The Annals of Darkness: The Beginning v II
by Shire Folk
Summary: More or less a redone version of the first half of Part I of my series. To be used in conjunction with Part III and beyond. Normalcy returns to Sora, Riku, and Kairi until two people sent by King Mickey arrive. Maleficent is still free and plotting.
1. Return to the Islands

_You know how when you start something it ends up evolving into something different than what you had originally planned? That's how this came about._

_Okay, so this 'story' chronicles the rewritten portions of __**The Beginning**__ portion of __**The Annals of Darkness **__series, and is to be used only for its own entertainment enjoyment and for continuity purposes extending to __**Part III:**__**The War**__ and beyond. You can compare and contrast to the original __**The**__**Beginning**__ and __**The Beginning v. I.I **__to your heart's content!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, or any of the things used in this fanfic that are not of my own creation._

-A-D-

**The Annals of Darkness**

**Part I: The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter I: Return to Destiny Islands

Waves lashed against the surface of the white sandy beaches of Destiny Islands, the white surf from them breaking as they flowed back and forth, timeless and unchanging. The Sun was already thinking about setting, dipping slowly towards the western horizon, where you could see naught but the ocean.

But the waves were not only lapping against the beaches of the five islands of Destiny Islands (Felra, Dunash, Straca, Nova, and the unnamed island where children from the nearby islands of Felra and Dunash played), they also broke upon a boy with long chocolate coloured and spiked hair, being smothered by an unnaturally large and a anthropomorphic dog and duck. His cerulean eyes were filled with happiness at seeing his friends again, but the fact that they were both lying on top of him and seemingly attempting to strangle him out of love forced the boy, Sora, to wipe all other thoughts from his mind and focus on one sole desire.

His desire to get them off of him so he could breathe!

He struggled to remove Donald's feathery hands from his throat and tried to get himself into a sitting position in order to look around. Keyword was that he tried. For at least ten seconds all that the boy was able see and feel were the salty waters of the ocean that Destiny Islands rested upon as well as the hands and faces of his two animal friends. It was apparent that at their joy of seeing him alive and well after defeating Xemnas, the leader of the Organization XIII, the latest group of beings to try and attain the power of Kingdom Hearts, that they had apparently forgotten that even though he wielded an enormous key-shaped weapon and held phenomenal power within him, the boy still needed to breathe good old wholesome air.

Sora finally freed himself from their combined weight and opted to get a glance at his surroundings as he sat up. Unfortunately, Donald and Goofy started to hug him and rub their faces against his the moment he was free from the water, chuckling and giggling the whole while.

Sora didn't really mind that they were behaving as they were. He was enjoying their reunion too, no matter how short of time had passed since he'd seen his friends. There was a very small part of him buried deep down however that was only slightly annoyed that they weren't giving him the chance to look around at him home world for the first time since he'd been forced to leave it with its previous destruction.

He, Donald, and Goofy settled down and looked over to their right, to see a boy almost seventeen with long hair that seemed to be a cross between silver and lilac in colour and a very large mouse king known as King Mickey, having just separated from a hug, with the boy looking only a little bashful at having been nearly caught hugging. The boy's name was Riku, and Sora's best friend. Sora looked back in front of him to see his longtime and best female friend Kairi standing just out of the water's reach, smiling at him. The Sun's bright light filtered through her auburn coloured hair and struck her face, her creamy skin gaining a radiance that Sora hadn't seen (or even noticed) for a very long time.

Kairi cocked her head slightly and she giggled slight, revealing more of her beautiful smile. Sora's stomach began to do cartwheels as his cerulean eyes took in her smile and the gleam in the girl's indigo irises.

_That was a little weird,_ Sora thought, his face body having gone numb on him. He almost began to wonder if fighting Heartless and the Organization for so long had caused such feelings, but then he nearly laughed to himself. He liked Kairi; he _knew_ that he _like_ liked Kairi, but the difficult part to decide was whether he was actually in love with Kairi. Before he began such a train of thought however, the sight of Kairi standing in front of him reminded him of something. He looked into one of his back pockets and pulled out the good luck talisman made of thalassa shells that he promised to give back to her when they'd parted in Traverse Town. There was a strange tingling sensation that Sora realized he'd felt every time he'd looked at this charm since leaving Kairi after closing the door to Kingdom Hearts pulsing through his body as he gazed fondly at the charm in his hand. Never mind that the girl was standing in front of him, his mind still filled with the sight of her smiling at him.

_Kairi…_

He looked back up at her to see her, still smiling ear to ear. But there was something pulling at him, something or someone that felt quite familiar. Sora smiled and realized who it was. His Nobody Roxas wanted to see Naminé, the Nobody of Kairi who now resided within Kairi as Roxas resided within him. Sora allowed the force pulling at him to win, and relinquished control of his body to his other. He looked out of eyes that were shared between the two of them, and he saw the auburn haired princess in front of him melt away into a blonde girl in a simple white sundress.

_Naminé…_

He saw her for only a moment, and he felt a surge of contentment come from the blonde that was within him as his other slipped control of Sora's body back to him. The blonde girl melted back into the auburn haired friend Sora knew, and he became numb once more to everything around him. The merry-making, joy spreading animal friends, Riku's small smirk as he observed Sora and Kairi staring into each other's eyes, even the wet feeling of the water he was still sitting in. All he could see was Kairi, everything else was a blur, or maybe that was some of the seawater in his eyes.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his gloved hand, and looked back at Kairi, suddenly realizing as he tried to speak that his tongue was exponentially dry.

"We- we're back." He finally managed to splutter out. Kairi bent down and offered him a hand.

"You're home." Was all she said, still smiling sweetly. Sora grinned again, and clasped her hand in his, still holding the talisman. Kairi pulled him up but Sora stood a little too quickly for both Kairi and his own legs, and the two of them ended up in a light hug as Sora fought to steady himself. He felt his face growing hot as his body pressed against Kairi's and quickly turned away before she could see the pink in his cheeks.

Kairi, though, had also begun to blush, and lightly pushed him as she turned to her right. This way Sora and the others wouldn't see her face. However Kairi's push, though light, was enough to send an already unstable Keyblade Master face first into the ocean. Again.

_Well, at least the water's nice and cool,_ Sora thought as everyone, including Kairi, looked over and started to laugh. Sora flipped over onto his back, chuckling to himself. His sense of being no longer numb, he stood back up and made sure he was steady before chancing a glance at Kairi. She was still smiling at him, but he was able to notice a tiny flush of pink on her cheeks. Shrugging it off as embarrassment from the previous situation, he looked around at the play island.

A sense of torturous longing overtook him as he soaked in his surroundings. The wooden buildings he, Riku, and the others had played in, the dock, the little islet with the paopu tree, the vines that covered the secret place, they all rushed into him in a single moment. His eyes watered and a tear threatened to fall as he took everything in.

He was home. He was _really_ home.

So many things meant home to him as they assailed his already besieged mind. His house, his boat, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, his other friends, the Ice Cream Parlor (he'd unfortunately have to break the news to them about Sea-Salt Ice Cream), his skateboard and other possessions. Riku and Kairi, his mom…

_Mom!_

Sora's eyes widened in shock and fear at the thought of his mother, giving sudden new meaning to the phrase 'dry as a bone'. His eyes could barely bring in the fact that Riku was now standing next to Kairi and the two of them were looking at him curiously. Sora's face had to be white as a sheet, like he'd seen a ghost.

"What is it Sora?" Riku asked quickly, not his aqua eyes not budging from Sora's face. "Don't tell me that we didn't finish off Xemnas and he's standing right behind us." Sora almost laughed at the absurdity of Riku's statement. Kairi didn't either, but glanced behind them just to make sure that the former leader of Organization XIII was not standing there, just in case.

"My mom is going to _kill _me!" Sora moaned at last.

Riku raised an eyebrow and chuckled slightly. "Oh, is that all?" Sora frowned at him while King Mickey laughed.

"Welp, we'd better get you guys home then, it is starting to darken out here," he said in his high-pitched, squeaky voice that can cause a person to laugh if they've never heard it before. Sora began to feel warm inside just at the King's assurance that he was home. He still felt a little fear of what his mother would do to him when she found out that he had been swimming in his clothes. Scratch that, he was terrified of what she'd say to him after she settled down from seeing him home again, period. He did not count out being grounded for a month.

"But, your majesty," Kairi began as she started looking over Sora and Riku, as well as taking a glance at the docks, "we only have the two boats that Sora and Riku left here back when the islands were taken. How are we going to get everyone across?" Mickey's face became pensive as he began to think of a solution.

Sora looked inquisitively at Kairi, hiding his surprise that his boat was still tied up at the docks. "What about your boat?" Kairi looked at him and then past the docks to the beaches of their home island of Felra.

"I wasn't over here when Axel came to kidnap me," she said. "I was still over there."

"Why weren't you here?" Riku asked. "We always used to come here." Kairi shook her head and looked down.

"I don't know," she said at length. "I guess I never knew just how you both would be coming back, but that when you did you would appear on this island. So if I waited on Felra, looking out to sea and towards here a bit, if I saw both boats coming back with a person rowing in each, I'd know you were both home." Sora nodded slightly to this reasoning and noticed Riku doing the same before his older friend glanced at the docks.

"How are our boats still here anyway?" he asked. "I know that they're strong, but they've been sitting in the water for over a year now."

"Yeah," added Sora. "Think of all of the storms." Kairi snorted slightly and the two friends looked at the third member of the group.

"Well you didn't think I'd let the boats of my two best friends rot into nothing so that they'd have to swim home to me did you?" she asked. "I took them out of the ocean and put them up on land."

Sora blinked at her. "You did that, when they were probably half-filled with water? When did you get strong enough to do that?"

Kairi kicked him in his shin with her purple sneaker and Sora heard a snigger in the back of his mind while he hopped on one foot, clutching his not actually wounded shin in comedic pain. He knew it at once to be Roxas.

"It did take me some time," she admitted, giggling slightly at Sora's antics. "But at least I went and did it unlike a certain lazy bum I know."

"Hey, I would've gotten around to getting my boat out of the water eventually," whined Sora as he stopped hugging his shin. "You know if I was actually here to do it."

"But you weren't," Kairi said accusingly. Sora flailed his arms out wide at the narrowing of Kairi's eyes.

"Gawrsh it isn't his fault Kairi," Goofy said, coming to Sora's rescue. "Sora wanted to come back to see yah."

"Yeah!" Donald jabbered. He pointed a feathered finger at Riku. "It's his fault we took so long."

"Mine?" Riku asked. "Why would it be my fault that Sora didn't come back to see Kairi if he obviously missed her so much?"

Sora tried desperately to ignore the heat that had risen to his cheeks again as he looked at Riku. "Because I was looking for _you_ Riku, so that both of us could come home to the islands and Kairi together. We were all apart for so long, I wanted to make sure we were all together and safe. But you said, and I quote here, 'I didn't want to be found.'"

"And did the Organization mean nothing compared to coming home?" Riku asked smugly.

"Just a minor detail on the side," Sora said. "On my checklist I had written: 'Number one: Find Riku. Number two: Come back home to Kairi and Destiny Islands. Number four: Defeat Organization XIII'."

"What was number three?" King Mickey asked, both unexpectedly and curiously.

Donald answered before Sora could. His voice had turned sly and he was glancing subtly at Kairi. "I know what it said." Sora quickly glanced between Donald and Kairi, his eyes swiftly widening in a sudden, yet brief display of fear and anger. But he wasn't being careful enough to avoid being seen in the maneuver and Kairi looked between him and Donald.

She raised a closing hand to her chin, hiding the lower part of her jaw from view as she looked coyly at Sora. "Does it have to do with me?"

"It sure-"

"Donald!" Sora hissed, spinning around and grabbing his feathered friend. Both knew very well that the third item on Sora's list was 'Ask Kairi out on a date', and Sora was very keen on _not_ having her know that the thought was even in his mind. He could hear Goofy and Riku chuckling behind him, but right now all he cared about was making sure that Disney Castle's court magician understood entirely that Sora did not want him dabbling in his love life.

"If my memory serves me right," he continued in a low voice that only Donald, and possibly Goofy and King Mickey with their acute ears (maybe even Jiminy Cricket as the Royal Chronicler resided within Sora's pocket), could hear. "I seem to remember that you've forgotten about your date with Daisy."

Donald narrowed his eye at Sora. "You wouldn't dare..."

"If you say so much as _one word_," Sora continued dangerously, letting his sentence hang in the air ominously. Both friends glared at each other for a few seconds before nodding to each other in understanding.

King Mickey broke their attention towards him with a sudden snap of his gloved fingers. "Well Princess Kairi, I have it. Sora and Riku are probably tired from defeating Xemnas, but I'm sure that they can handle it. They'll take up the oars in the boats first with Donald and Goofy, and then row back here, where they will switch off with the two of us."

"Please, just call me Kairi." Kairi said in a slightly exasperated, slightly humored voice while her cheeks took on a faint shade of pink. She wasn't used to being a princess, and Sora didn't blame her. She hadn't even found out until the previous year after she'd regained her heart, through him.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Goofy asked, striding forward towards the docks first, "let's get going then, ahyuk! Come on guys!" Sora nodded and followed Goofy over to the docks.

True to Kairi's word, he and Riku found their boats drawn up and sitting on the docks, high and dry with the wood still strong, even if there were one or two barnacles on the undersides. Tired as Sora's arms were from fighting off Xemnas and probably a few hundred dusks (though he would never admit it to anyone that he was tired), he and Riku flipped and lugged their boats into the surf underneath the docks and took Donald and Goofy over with Donald in Sora's boat and Goofy in Riku's. Thirteen minutes later they had returned to the docks on the play island with Kairi and King Mickey waiting for them.

"Beat you Sora!" Riku exclaimed in victory as he gave a great heave of his two oars and defeated the boy with chocolate-coloured hair in a race back.

"Who cares?" Sora grumbled, his arms straining as he slowed his boat down for it to softly graze the side of the wooden dock. He wiped some of the sweat from his brow and looked up at Kairi to see that she was glancing at King Mickey in apprehension.

"Are you sure that you're going to be able to row both you and Riku to shore your majesty?" she asked. King Mickey laughed.

"Don't worry Kairi," he said. "I'm a lot stronger than I look."

"Believe him when he says that," Riku added, carefully sliding over to the other side of his boat and taking a few deep breaths. Sora crouched off of his seat in his boat and gingerly made his way to another seat so that a carefully moving Kairi could grab hold of his oars. The boat was swaying more than he'd have liked it to.

Kairi finally managed to get herself seated and at least marginally comfortable with her hands grasped around the hafts of both oars. "Ready?" she asked, looking towards the other boat. Sora looked over at Riku's boat to see King Mickey looking at both of them and nodding his head to show that he was ready. Both shoved off with the oars together and began rowing both boats over to where Donald and Goofy were now waiting.

Sora kept his eyes closed and simply felt the wind on his face, tasted the salty air and spray in its scent. He could forget the aching feel in his limbs and the dreading feeling of what awaited him at his house in what would likely be the form of his mother when she remembered that he had vanished without a trace. All the while he listened to the swish of the oars as Kairi rowed the two of them over.

He cracked an eye open at Kairi as her breathing began to huff. She noticed him peeking at her and grunted. "You know, you could help me instead of just being a lazy bum and sitting there."

Sora laughed. "I've just saved the worlds for a second time Kai, don't I ever get a break?" Kairi stopped rowing and shoved the oars at him.

"Nope," she said, crossing her arms and smiling at him. "Row." The boat slowed as the resistance the water gave brought an end to its forward motion, Sora and Kairi both staring at each other, each with slight smiles as they waited for the other to submit.

_Don't give in,_ Roxas said. _We just beat the Superior and about five hundred Dusks with Riku's help. Kairi's rested up in a cell in The Castle That Never Was. Don't give in to Naminé!_

Sora had no intention of giving Kairi the satisfaction of making him row them both across to shore. He was prepared to sit silently in this boat and wait for her to take up the oars and row _him_ back home. There was also the fact that the longer they kept this up, the more time he got to spend with Kairi even though they weren't doing anything.

The minutes passed slowly, and still neither of them moved for the oars. Sora was sure that by now Riku and King Mickey had already made it to shore and were wondering why it was that his boat had ceased moving and that he and Kairi were sitting motionless in it.

Kairi started to move, and Sora's hopes soared that she had lost her resolve to make him row again. Roxas was already smugly celebrating in his mind, but then both of their thoughts froze and Sora's eyes swiftly went to Kairi's hand as it softly touched his leg before going to her eyes in confusion.

He immediately regretted it.

Kairi's eyes had gained a slight shimmer as they watered slightly, and her lower lip was trembling in a slight pout. The indigo of her eyes stunned Sora as the Sun's light flickered off the moisture in them.

"Sora please?" Kairi asked, her voice taking on the sweetness of honey and the frailty of a soft summer breeze. Sora jammed his eyes shut to keep himself from looking at the demon known as Kairi. The touch of her skin, the sound of her voice, the look in her eyes…

_Sensory overload! _Roxas yelled. _Sensory overload! Damn you sweet Naminé!_

Sora's eyes slowly opened again, and unfortunately the first thing he saw was Kairi's face.

"Arg!" Sora said, forcefully drawing his eyes away._ She's too damned cute!_

Sora groaned and took up the oars, the strained feeling in his arms returning in full as he forced his muscles to work for him again. He grimaced as he watched Kairi smiling smugly and giggling at him. She won this round, curse her flirting.

Sora noticed Riku's eyebrows rise when they arrived on shore and frowned at him. "What?"

"Kairi's got you whipped Sora," Riku whispered as Sora began tying his boat off. Sora fumbled slightly on the rope and kept his face turned to the ocean, not wanting to reveal the blush that was rapidly developing on his cheeks.

"I am not whipped," Sora lied in a hiss, glancing furtively at Kairi as she waited with King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy while Sora and Riku both tied up their boats.

"Sure you're not," Riku said with a roll of his aqua eyes. "You just rowed Kairi over here instead of the other way around like we'd agreed upon."

"Well, she told me to," Sora muttered. "And she pulled out the watery eyes and pouting lip."

"Ergo, you are whipped," Riku repeated. "You'd jump off a cliff if Kairi told you to."

"That's not true!"

Riku chuckled slightly as his fingers grasped hold of the rope and pulled to tighten the knot. "So that's where you draw the line?"

"No I mean it's not true that Kairi would tell me to jump off a cliff," Sora said. He blinked as Riku stared at him and shook his head. "What?"

"You are so clueless," said Riku. He jerked his head towards the other four as they waited for them. "Come on, let's go."

"Yeah," Sora said, tightening the knot that kept his boat restrained. He looked towards Kairi just as Riku started in front of him. She was smiling at him, and when Sora caught sight of her smile in the sunlight he felt his heart flutter and grow warm. Shaking his head at himself, Sora smiled back and tried to conceal the fact that his heart had begun to beat at least fifty percent faster than it had before.

"So should we go home now?" Kairi asked.

Sora's heart rate dropped down to normal levels at the thought of his mother. He gulped and cleared his throat, though that couldn't stop his voice from cracking and stuttering. "How about we show the King, Donald, and Goofy around Felra for a bit?" he suggested with a nervous laugh.

"Why?" Kairi asked, tilting her head slightly. "Your mom has to be worried sick about you."

"You wouldn't mind going to meet our parents, would you guys?" Riku asked, the corners of his mouth still turned up slightly from the smile Sora had given Kairi.

"Let's think about this for a second," Sora said quickly before any of their friends from Disney Castle could answer. "Kairi, Riku, what do you think your mom and dad are going to say when you get home, unannounced, after vanishing without a trace or word?"

The faces of both of his friends after his question were more than enough of an answer, Kairi's nervous and forced laugh only proving it.

"So," Riku said. "We have two choices. We either go home and get yelled at and grounded, or we give Mickey, Donald, and Goofy a tour before we go home and get yelled at and grounded."

"How about we give them the tour," Kairi said quickly. "I don't really look forward to facing daddy anymore."

"And _I'm_ the only one who thought about this?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Don't rub it in Sora," said Riku.

"Gawrsh Sora," Goofy said quietly as they began to walk on the cobblestone road, "is your mother really that scary?" Sora gave a goofy, anxious grin.

"She's horrifying when she's angry," he said through clenched teeth, rubbing the back of his head.

"And your parents Riku?" King Mickey asked. He shrugged.

"They're pretty lenient," he said, "but they've probably worried themselves into a state since I never came back when I told them right after dinner that I was going to go and check up on our raft."

"Kairi?" Donald asked as they walked past the first few houses on the outskirts of the city. Sora glanced at the buildings while Kairi withheld her answer for a few seconds. The residences were nice, wooden paneled houses painted a variety of light colours to keep out the sun's oppressive heat during the summer. Most were split-levels, with one upper story, a main floor, and a basement to withdraw into during violent summer storms and when the heat was too much on the main and upper floors for even the air conditioning to defeat. Wooden decks and porches were built in shade in front of many of the homes, and only one in close to three hundred of the homes in Felra had a garage or a driveway. Cars were an extreme luxury on Destiny Islands even in the city often afforded by only the very rich; even those of important station like the mayor did not have a motor vehicle.

"My dad's the mayor of the islands," Kairi said, Sora noticing that her tone was slightly downcast like it always was when she discussed her father, "so his office tends to keep him busy a lot, and he doesn't always pay me much attention, as if he'd have rather preferred to take in a son rather than a daughter. He really only takes interest in me to show his disapproval of a boy I casually mention asked me out, or when I get a bad mark in school But mom is great, except when my grades were slipping a little last-"

"Wait what?!" Sora said suddenly. "_Who_ asked you out?"

Riku, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey shared significant looks with each other, looks that went unnoticed by Sora or Kairi as the girl looked at the Keyblade Master again.

"Does it matter?" she asked. "I didn't date any of them for longer than a week, and I wasn't seeing anyone when Axel came."

"Oh," Sora muttered. His anger deflated and he scratched the back of his head. "That's good then."

"Why?" Kairi asked, stopping in her tracks and turning around completely to face him. Sora felt his heart start to race and his cheeks soared in temperature as hot blood flowed into them.

"Is that jealousy you're feeling Sora?" Donald asked.

Sora glared at him, but his voice was flustered. "NO I'm not jealous! I just- I just didn't want to come home and find that Kairi had gotten herself a boyfriend while we were gone." The volume in his speech had steadily decreased as the words spilled out of his mouth, and he turned his gaze away from Kairi, embarrassed that he'd said that.

_Idiot Sora!_ He exclaimed in his mind. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_

Kairi's voice forcibly returned Sora's eyes to her as she spoke up, shyness in her tone that wasn't often there. "Would it be bad if I had a boyfriend?"

"No, no it wouldn't be bad," Sora said quickly, trying to ignore the silent laughter Riku was sending his way or the look on King Mickey's face. "You'd be happy Kai, and I'd be happy that you'd be happy. It would just mean that it wouldn't be just you, Riku, and me anymore."

"Oh," Kairi said, her voice showing her understanding. Sora looked curiously into her eyes, he imagined that for a slight second there was a bit of disappointment in those indigo oceans. But it was gone almost as soon as he'd thought it and Kairi smiled. "Well lucky for us that didn't happen then. It can still be me and my two best guy friends again."

"Don't forget us, ahyuk!" Goofy said. Sora laughed and threw his arms around Donald and Goofy.

"Aw, we could never forget you guys," he said. "We've been through too much together."

"Hey what's that place?" Donald asked, pointing a feather at a building.

"That's the ice cream parlour," Kairi answered. Sora glanced up at the sun, feeling the familiar heat beating down on his tired limbs. He couldn't remember how many days ago it had been since they'd tried Sea-Salt ice cream produced by Scrooge McDuck.

Minutes later the six of them were strolling through the city of Felra, ice creams in hands, paid for entirely out of Sora's pocket. He and Riku had both gathered quite a lot of munny off of the Heartless and Nobodies that they had defeated, and so it just seemed natural to Sora to treat his friends with the spoils. They had just defeated Organization XIII, and celebration was in order!

"What would a shadow be doing with five munny anyway?" Sora wondered aloud.

"Huh?" Kairi asked, licking her chocolate flavoured ice cream bar as they sat around a couple of benches underneath trees in a nearby park the trio had spent time in their child years playing in.

"I mean, what would a Heartless _buy_ with their money?" Sora continued. "They'd likely try to steal the heart of the shopkeeper before they'd even get anything."

"Do you think that Heartless would have shops of their own to buy things?" Goofy asked.

"Oh come on," Donald quacked. "What would a Heartless need to buy? They don't eat, they don't wear clothes, they don't own anything."

"What about Nobodies then?" Kairi asked.

_We needed munny,_ Roxas voice spoke in Sora's mind. _We had to eat, and so did the lesser Nobodies. Plus it was nice occasionally to wear clothes other than that black cloak._

"Roxas says that Nobodies actually had a use for the cash they carried on them," Sora summarized.

"Does he now?" King Mickey asked. "You can communicate with Roxas?"

Sora noticed Kairi grimace beside him and looked at her. "Naminé says 'Of course he can talk to Roxas.' She's talking to me right now, and it is a little hard to try and talk while she's- Naminé I don't!"

"Don't what?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow. Kairi's face flushed for some reason and she looked sharply at Riku.

"None of your business Riku!" she spat. Riku glanced at Sora and the two of them shrugged before returning to their ice cream. Sora looked down at the bar of vanilla flavoured frozen goodness and sighed.

_I _really_ need to tell them about Sea-Salt ice cream_, he decided. Vanilla had been his favourite flavour, even more so than chocolate, but the ice cream just seemed bland and disappointing now since he'd tried Sea-Salt in Radiant Garden. His nose twitched and Sora looked at Kairi and his disappointed frown turned into a smile.

_She still smells like strawberries_.

Kairi caught sight of him looking at her and ran a finger against the edge of her mouth. "Do I have something on my face?" She asked anxiously. Sora shook his head and realized that he'd just been staring at her.

"No," he replied quickly, blushing and looking away.

_Smooth Sora, very smooth._

"Shut up Roxas," Sora whispered.

"Well I do believe that congratulations are in order," King Mickey said suddenly, standing up from where he sat on the grass. He raised his ice cream bar in front of him like it was his Keyblade and said in a clear voice, "I shall dedicate this ice cream to Sora and Riku, who have brought peace to the worlds with the downfall of Organization XIII. May they be around much longer than this." He promptly bit down into it, and Sora laughed as King Mickey shivered.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have done that," he said, holding a hand to his head.

"They feel your gratitude all the same your majesty," Kairi said, smiling at the chuckling Sora and Riku. Several children playing in the park passed by them as they ate, looking curiously at the residents from Disney Castle for a few minutes before continuing in their play.

They finished their ice cream in good spirits as the afternoon sun's heat was kept at bay by the shade of the trees they sat under, and discarded the sticks in a nearby waste basket. They had barely taken a few steps onto the cobblestone road again when a slightly familiar barking entered Sora's ears. He had just been able to turn around in time to see a yellow dog pounce onto the King, yipping and barking happily.

"Aw Pluto!" King Mickey said, while he chuckled constantly at the dog's licks. "So that's where you are. Sto-stop Pluto, that tickles!" Pluto got off of King Mickey and the monarch hugged his dog, his white-gloved hands beginning to stroke him. Sora smiled as he watched the King and his dog. He had wondered before just how much Pluto meant to him.

King Mickey withdrew from the embrace and Pluto surprised both him and Sora when he barked and leapt onto Kairi, felling her to the ground as he began to lick her face.

"It looks like Pluto made a friend," Goofy laughed as Kairi giggled, "ahyuk."

Pluto got off of Kairi and Sora helped her back to her feet as she wiped some of the loving slobber off. "You have something on your face now Kairi," Sora teased as she got steady on her feet.

"Not funny Sora," Kairi retorted, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

"Hey what's that building down there?" Donald asked, pointing from the top of the hill. Sora, Riku, and Kairi came over to the crest of the hill where the court magician was standing. Both Kairi and Riku groaned.

"That's our high school," they said simultaneously.

"Great," Sora moaned. "School. Blech!"

"What's wrong with schooling?" Jiminy Cricket asked as he popped out of Sora's pocket. He took off his top hat and wiped his green forehead with a white gloved hand. "Whew, it's like an oven in there."

"Sorry Jiminy," apologized Sora. "But, when am I ever going to need something like chemistry or physics to fight evil?"

"Think like that Sora and you won't be at the top of your game if they ever come back," said Riku. Sora grimaced.

-A-D-

The three islanders spent the rest of the afternoon showing Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Jiminy Cricket around the main island of Felra and its many sights such as the blitzball stadium and the different places where their parents worked, briefly passing by each of them in the off chance that one of them would look out and notice any of them. They showed their friends fabric store where Kairi's mother Janet was the assistant manager, the convenience store run by both of Riku's parents, and the expensive restaurant where Sora's mother was the head chef. The mayor's office in the city's centre they also passed by, feeling that it would be interesting for a King to see the place of office of Destiny Island's elected leader. They also stopped by the headquarters of the Guardians, an organization that defended the islanders from the threats posed by fiends that wandered the forests, plains, hills, and seas amongst the five islands. Sora and Riku joked that together they could probably take on and whip the pants off of the entire force of Guardians on this island even if they all banded together against the two Keyblade Masters.

"Don't forget Garda," Kairi warned as they made their way back through the streets towards Sora's house.

"Garda doesn't stand a chance against us," Sora said.

"Who's Garda?" Jiminy asked.

"He's the leader of the Guardians," Riku said. "And he's the strongest and best fighter they've ever had."

The sun had set by the time they reached Sora's house, and his legs had grown tired when his eyes finally caught sight of the lit electric lanterns on the house's front. The lanterns looked just like he'd remembered them, and so did the crooked window on the second story that looked out northwest towards the play island. _His_ bedroom window.

Sora felt his voice crack in his throat as he shuffled his feet on the cobblestone road, looking with awe at the house that was exactly as he'd remembered it. "I'm home," he croaked quietly, causing everyone to look at him as his body shook slightly. "I'm _really_ home."

He felt hands touch his shoulder and Sora looked to see both Riku and Kairi standing there beside him, Kairi's sweet smile and Riku's slight one and nod giving him a bit more strength to carry his feet towards the porch. The slapping sound of his shoes against the wooden boards creaked in his ears. He hadn't even left the house by the front door, he'd escaped through the window in his room.

Sora paused and stared at the white screen door in front of the mahogany front door, its brass knob shining at him in the light given by the streetlamps and faint starlight. He'd never really noticed before the carvings made into the wooden door, but his heart ached in the familiarity as it struck him. But what was he going to find on the other side? How much would his house have changed? Would his mother have changed at all?

"Sora?" Donald began quietly after Sora stood for a full minute, just staring at the door.

"Huh?"

"Are you going to open the door?" he asked, tapping his foot. Sora gave a quiet, embarrassed chuckle and pulled open the screen door. Goofy went to hold onto it and Sora removed his black fingerless gloves and placed his hand against the cool brass doorknob, just to feel it. He turned the knob slowly and pulled.

Sora frowned and pulled again. "It's locked," he said, staring at the door. He let go of the doorknob and began searching his pockets frantically. "Where is it?" he muttered, shoving his hands through one pocket and then into another. Potions, keychains, ethers, and different amulets he found, but his probing fingers couldn't find it.

"What are you searching for Sora?" King Mickey asked.

"My house key," the Keyblade Master answered simply. "Where is that thing? Arg! I must have left it in my room!"

"Why would you need your house key Sora?" Kairi asked, unsuccessfully holding back a giggle.

"Because I can't unlock the-" Sora stopped and laughed, shaking his head. "Boy am I an idiot." He summoned the Oblivion into his hand and pointed the Keyblade's tip an inch away from the lock above the doorknob. A tiny beam of light shot from the tip and into the locking mechanism, followed swiftly by a click as the door unlocked. Sora dismissed his Keyblade and placed his right hand onto the doorknob and twisted it again.

"Now it opens," he said triumphantly, opening his front door. Pluto barked encouragingly.

_All hail Sora,_ said Roxas, _the Keyblade Master who was almost defeated by his own locked front door!_

"Very funny Roxas," Sora said sarcastically as he took a step inside.

"What did he say?" Riku asked.

"He mocked me," answered Sora.

"Sounds like him," Riku said, nodding. Sora sighed and nodded as well, taking a look down the front hallway. Light assaulted his eyes, coming from the light above the doormat that he was now standing on. The hall painted in soft blue nearly brought tears to his eyes as they strayed over the pictures hanging from the walls. His ears finally picked up sounds coming from the kitchen, just down the hall and to the left, the wall immediately on Sora's left concealing the dining area and part of the kitchen. It sounded like someone was cooking.

"Who's there?" a female voice asked, a slight hint of unease within it. Sora's heart gave a funny squeeze as he heard the voice, it hadn't changed at all. "Janet is that you? You really should not be doing this. You have been sick after all and I've told you before that I'm fine." Sora heard the sounds of the woman putting something down and beginning to come towards the hall where he waited anxiously. "And I'm sure that Kairi will turn up soon, probably hanging off that son of mine. I'll be very surprised if they haven't kissed yet. It's obvious they feel something towards each other."

Sora and Kairi blushed and looked at each other, and Sora only felt more embarrassed when he realized that he was blushing. His friends' quiet laughing didn't help him, and Sora suddenly acted without thinking.

"Mom!" he whined. "You're embarrassing me!" His eyes widened and his blush only deepened when he realized what he said. The wooden floor underneath them trembled slightly as a woman rushed into sight of the hall. She was roughly five foot-nine, had shoulder length chocolate hair, and eyes that were just as blue as her son's. She was garbed in a red t-shirt and a pair of tan coloured shorts, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor of the kitchen and hallway. The woman froze as she laid eyes on Sora in disbelief.

"Hi Mom," Sora croaked anxiously, his voice trembling as the tears in his eyes that emerged upon seeing her threatened to fall.

-A-D-

_Well, that is the re-written first chapter of this whole shebang. I'm rather proud of this one, partially because it's hard to go back and rewrite something that I wrote over two years ago and has been an integral part of a story that has grown far beyond my wildest fantasies when I began._

_Please enjoy._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	2. Home and Stories

_Here's the rewritten chapter two. I'm grateful for everyone who has reviewed, and I hope you are enjoying reading this._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except for the merchandise._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter II: Home and Stories

Sora gulped as he stared at the look on his mother's face, a horrifying look of disbelief that made his heart stop as he contemplated any possible reaction she could have.

"Sora?" she asked, her voice equally as uncertain as his had been ten seconds earlier. "Is it really you?" Gulping thickly, Sora nodded his head, and kept his stinging eyes on his mother. He desperately wanted to move, to come and hug her, to allow himself an excuse to let the tears that were blurring his vision to fall from his face, still flushed from her comments about him and Kairi.

His mother's shoulders crumpled slightly, and he could see fresh tears of happiness beginning to slide down her cheeks as her arms opened slightly, invitingly. Sora bolted to his mom and in under a second he was wrapped lovingly in her arms, his height only exceeding her through his spiky hair.

The tears fell thick and fast as he rubbed his cheek against his mother's shoulder. Her embrace was the softest and most comforting thing he'd experienced since leaving his home the night the islands were destroyed.

"Oh Sora," cooed his mother. "You're home, my baby's home."

"I'm home mom," replied Sora, just as softly, hugging her tighter and letting his nose pick up her smell. "I'm back. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too baby," said his mother, gently kissing his forehead and rubbing his back, rocking him back and forth. Sora felt her hand through his black vest and shirt, and the soothing motion caused a contented sigh to escape his lips. He sniffed, about to rub red eyes.

Sora sniffed again.

"Mom, you're burning the beef," he said.

"Hush," his mother replied, appearing to have not heard him. "Don't say a word. You're ba-"

"Seriously," Sora cut her off looking over her shoulder, "you're _burning_ the beef!" His mother's arms left him an instant later and she turned around and sped back into the kitchen, Sora quickly following her. His mom went one way around the island in the centre of their kitchen and Sora took the longer route, going around it and trying to beat her to the stove. He lost by less than a second and his mother had already grabbed the metal flipper she was using in the wok and was stirring the strips of sirloin around.

"Saved," she said, finishing her stirring. She looked down at her son, and her eyebrows narrowed when she looked at his feet. "Shoes, off!"

Sora groaned and went back to the front door, where he promptly kicked off his shoes and motioned for the others to do the same while in his white socks. "Can't even come home after a year without being harassed to take of my shoes," he muttered darkly, but then he smiled. Some things never changed.

"I heard that Sora," snapped his mother. Sora entered the kitchen again and placed a hand on his mother's shoulder, causing her to look away from the wok to which she had just added vegetables.

"I have some friends with me mom," he said, jerking his head behind him. His mother looked and Sora saw her eyebrows rise. She quickly looked between her son and the person she was looking at and smiled.

"So did both of you hear what I said then?" she asked smugly.

"Mom!" Sora moaned, his face turning a shade of bright red.

"Only teasing Sora," she replied. "How are you Kairi?"

"I'm fine Anne," Kairi said. "How are my mom and dad?"

"They'll be relieved to learn that you're back," Anne said. "And Riku, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Riku said, his frame already moving past Sora, Kairi, and Sora's mother Anne to sit down at the small table that was to the left of the kitchen, right next to the window that overlooked the front porch. Anne nodded at him and then looked towards King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket.

"More friends of yours Sora?" she asked, looking at them quizzically. "Obviously not from Destiny Islands," she added to herself in an audible undertone.

"Oh mom, these are my friends: Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket," Sora said indicating each one.

"Hello," said Donald.

"Howdy there," said Goofy.

"Jiminy Cricket at your service," greeted Jiminy, sweeping off his top hat as he stood on Goofy's shoulder and bowing.

"And this is King Mickey Mouse and his dog Pluto," Sora finished, standing next to the King. "They're from Disney Castle."

Anne snapped her fingers. "I knew it," she said. "I knew they weren't from this world."

"What?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow. "_You_ know about other worlds."

"Of course," Anne said, looking at him. "Everyone on Destiny Islands except for the kids knows about the other worlds."

"But they're supposed to be a secret," Goofy said, looking down at his king. "Aren't they your majesty?"

"For the last ten years or so, they mostly have been," King Mickey replied. "But we can talk about all of that later."

"So this is your kitchen Sora?" Goofy asked, moving into it to look at the wok filled with stir-frying beef and vegetables. "It sure is different from the one on the _Highwind_." Sora took hold of the wok and began to stir the food around.

"Hey you stole the name of the raft!" Riku said suddenly from the table.

"Your Majesty," Anne said, coming up close to the king and whispering in his ear while the others were occupied by Sora and Riku arguing. "Could we _not_ tell them about why we all know about other worlds and why they've been kept secret?"

"They deserve to know," King Mickey said quietly.

"Why?" she asked. The King shifted his head towards them slightly.

"They are wielders," he said. "And your son Sora is the Keyblade's Chosen Master." Anne looked at her son in surprise as he continued to attempt to cook what with Riku badgering him about stealing his name. Kairi was watching him with interest while Donald and Goofy appeared to try to do their best to help Sora.

"So that's why he's been gone all this time," she said softly. She looked back at King Mickey. "How'd he do?"

"All he ever wanted to do was find his friends and bring 'em back home," King Mickey answered. "And look, he found 'em, and brought 'em back safe and sound."

"Then I'm glad," Anne said. "But he is still my son, and I would rather not have him worry about what happened in the past. He still has his whole life ahead of him."

"They will have to be told eventually," King Mickey said in resignation. "But I suppose it can wait until everything has calmed down. Sora and Riku have just won a great victory for the realm of light, I guess there is no need to burden them with shadows of the past now."

"Hey mom," Sora asked quizzically, having Goofy fill up a pot of water, "how come you were cooking enough for two?"

"Because it's easier to cook for more than one person Sora," Anne replied. "And there was always the hope that one day soon you'd walk in through that door, right in time for the dinner you missed last year."

Sora smiled and laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with closed eyes. "Right, that…" But Anne shook her head and merely rubbed his hair affectionately.

"But I never would have imagined you'd bring so many others along," she continued. "So it isn't my fault that there isn't enough ready for them all. You are all staying for dinner of course?"

"I think it would be best to go back home later," Kairi replied, looking down slightly. "Mom and Dad are going to be hopping mad when I get home."

"Same with my folks," said Riku. He laughed. "Besides, I want to see how much better Sora's cooking's gotten. Last time I tried something he made, I thought for sure I had food poisoning."

"Ha ha," Sora said sarcastically. "You just don't want to admit that you're a horrible cook. My cooking was great the last time you ate something I made."

"The last time I ate anything you served I felt as if I needed to call the fire department!" Riku retorted. "My mouth was on fire!"

"That's funny," Goofy said. "Sora never made anything really spicy when he was with us."

"Hey Mom," Sora began, watching as his mother turned back to cooking from where he'd left off. "Don't you want to know where we've been?" Anne's head shook.

"Not right now." she said. "If I start asking you questions about where you've been I'll start getting angry. I don't want to be angry right now, I just want to be happy that you, and Riku, and Kairi are all back home, safe and sound."

"Not exactly sound," Riku muttered loudly enough for Sora but not his mother to hear, looking down at his right side. Sora winced. That was where Xemnas had struck Riku with his aerial blades when the leader of Organization XIII had tried to kill him, Riku blocking the attack first with his Keyblade and then with his body.

While his mother continued cooking their dinner, Sora and Riku went down into the basement and lugged up a few more chairs to place at the kitchen table. There were already four chairs at the table, given the number of times that Riku and Kairi had stayed over in the past for meals that Anne had finally given up and opted to just leave chairs there as place settings for Sora's two best friends. However, throwing three more chairs into the mix was an interesting experience for Sora, requiring thirty minutes of thought and petty arguments and the continual shifting of chairs around the table until it more resembled a game of musical chairs rather than trying to make the small table fit seven and a cricket. Kairi wasn't much help, preferring to sit in the chair that had been hers for years and watch them with a humourous smile on her face, sipping water out of a clear glass and making small suggestions from her position.

By the time they were finished, dinner was ready and being carried across to the table by Anne, Kairi (who had at last left her chair at Sora's pleading that they needed to move it and he would whether she was sitting in it or not), and King Mickey. Sora snatched his chopsticks as his nose took in the scent of beef sirloin, fried broccoli and bell pepper, egg, soy sauce, and lots and lots of rice. He watched Donald's feathered fingers snatch up a fork (as the duck had refused for months to even touch chopsticks) and eye the food greedily.

Sora's stomach growled and he realized just how hungry he was. He caught Donald looking at his offending stomach, and glared at the court magician just as the bowl of fried rice was placed in front of him. Both immediately dived for the bowl and the large metal serving spoon within it when Anne's voice stopped her son in his tracks.

"Sora!" she reprimanded sharply. "We let our guests be served first." She then handed King Mickey the dish filled with stir-fry, glaring at her son. Sora pouted and grumbled under his breath.

"There'll be nothing left if Donald eats first," he muttered. "He eats more than _I_ do."

_You have no right to complain,_ said Roxas angrily. _I can smell that food through you, but I can't taste _any_ of it! I couldn't even taste your ice cream!_

"Aw, poor, poor Roxas," Sora said.

"What?" Anne asked, looking quizzically at her son.

"Oh," Sora said quickly, "he's my Nobody."

Anne looked for a moment like she was about to ask just what a Nobody was, but then she closed her eyes and looked down with a stern look. "No, no I don't want to know right now. Tell me tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, you're grounded."

Sora's eyes flew open wide as Donald started sniggering, the duck passing the fried rice over to Kairi. "What!?"

"For a week," Anne concluded.

"But Mom!" Sora whined. "It's… wait, what day is it again?"

"Saturday August sixteenth," Riku said, looking down at his watch for the day and weekday and the calendar that hung on the wall for the month.

"We only have just over a week before school starts!" Sora continued. "You can't ground me for the last bit of summer vacation."

"Yes I can," Anne replied sternly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm your mother," said Anne, her tone indicating that the conversation was closed. "Have some stir-fry."

Sora grumbled for a few seconds as he heaped food onto his plate. "Well what if the worlds need me suddenly?"

"I need you," Anne said, her eyes flashing dangerously as her son tried to continue trying to get out of being grounded. "Have you even seen your room since you vanished on me without a trace? It's a disgusting mess! I'm surprised you can even find a path to your bed. That room needs to be cleaned."

Kairi giggled from across the table, just barely able to keep her laughter under control. Sora frowned at her and Riku as he smirked while sitting next to her.

"I wouldn't be so smug," Anne added, her tone losing its harshness and turning instead to becoming pleasant. "After all, your parents are probably going to do much the same to you."

"So don't laugh at me just because I got it first," Sora said threateningly as the smiles slipped off of his friends' faces. He scooped the last bit of fried rice from the bowl onto his plate and looked at it dismally. It was a rather large pile, but Donald's was larger and the duck had already been eating it. His face lost its dismal look when he placed some of the sirloin on the tip of his tongue.

"Mm!" he exclaimed. "This is great. Too bad certain persons can't have any." His eyes and head flicked upwards for a second.

_Sora do you want me to kill you?_ Roxas growled.

"Naminé shares the sentiments that Roxas is giving you Sora," Kairi said. "So you might want to watch your- Naminé shut up!" she suddenly hissed. "No I'm not going to do that!" Sora watched Kairi's face suddenly turn bright crimson and recoil slightly.

"No I don't," she said, forcefully and in a low tone through gritted teeth. "Now you be quiet or I'll start poking fun at you and Roxas."

_There's nothing going on between me and Naminé!_ Roxas said abruptly. _We are just very close friends._

"You were a little quick there Roxas," said Sora, his eyes flickering up again.

"Wak!" Donald jabbered in frustration while Riku and King Mickey both chuckled. "I'm trying to eat here! Can't you talk to your Nobodies without flapping your lips?"

_Sure I can Donald,_ Sora thought sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the court magician who was already getting close to finishing his plate of food. _Hey, can you actually hear me like this Roxas?_

_Roger that,_ came Roxas' reply. _But if you mention one word about me and Naminé-_

_If you mention one word about me and Kairi,_ Sora returned, placing a glob of fried rice onto his tongue.

_Ha!_ Roxas retorted. _What will you do? You have nothing to back up your threat. I however can annoy you for the rest of your natural life. Now let's see… what song do you absolutely hate?_

Sora's eyes narrowed slightly. _You wouldn't dare._

_Not yet anyway, but if you bring up me and Naminé, I might just have to._

_Fine,_ Sora retorted, taking a sip of milk from his glass.

Dinner was quite a different affair that night than it had ever been in Anne's kitchen. Even though the food was excellent, it took fifty minutes for the entire table to get through their meals. It was hindered however by the sheer volume of talk that began soon after Roxas had stopped speaking to Sora and he'd stopped teasing Roxas by mentally describing the flavour of every morsel that entered his mouth.

Much of the talk was centred on Destiny Islands or Disney Castle, with occasional comments from Jiminy Cricket about his own world, Town of Wishes. King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket had already learned a bit about the islands from the three islanders while they toured Felra city (tactfully keeping silent about the fact that they had been given a tour that afternoon), but there had been little said between them about any of the islands apart from the main one of Felra, so Anne was the one to answer most of their questions concerning Dunash, Straca, and Nova.

Whereas Felra was the largest of the islands and contained the only true city of the world, Dunash was the next closest in size while Straca was the smallest, only barely being beaten in size by the island of Nova. Felra's landmass was the southernmost of the islands, and it continued stretching off southeast, the shores furthest away from their current position by the northwestern shore several days ride away by chocobo, amongst the cliffs and volcanic rock caused by the now extinct volcano and mountains in that area of the island. Major industries on Felra were generally its orchards of fruit and farming fields off to the east of the city, as well as mining various metals and logging from the hills and mountains that continued towards the east of the island, and manufacturing them. Dunash in contrast was mostly prime for ranching, with its area apart from the town covered by chocobo, cockatrice, and cattle ranches. Sora's aunt, uncle, and cousins even owned and ran a chocobo ranch there. Dunash was also the island that majorly handled anything technological. Computers, mp3s, ovens and other technological consumer and industrial goods were made there. Straca's main industry was that of consumer goods from the clay, as well as taking ores and minerals mined out of Nova and manufacturing them. Nova was a mining island, and all four of the main islands had been formed by volcanic activity, whereas the fifth play island appeared to just have risen out of the sea. Common for all the islands was fishing, but only near the shallows or in sight of the islands. A terrible event had happened one day out in the high seas, destroying a fishing fleet that had been owned and operated by Sora's father, and claimed his dad's life.

Dunash and Felra ran somewhat parallel to one another although the way Felra was positioned caused the gap to increase as one went further east; Dunash was to the north and Felra to the south. The play island served as something of a mid-point between them near the northwestern most end of Felra, but it was often avoided by any except for children and Felra lovers seeking the closest paopu tree to their homes, the remainder of which grew on Straca and Nova and Dunash's northern shores. Both Straca and Nova were north of Dunash, their star-shaped landmasses rising far above the seas and plains of the second largest island. Those three islands were the closest together and communicated the most, as walls of cliffs spanned much of Dunash's southern banks to keep it cut off from Felra. It was then odd that Felra, being the island most cut off from the others, should be the capital island rather than Dunash, but heavy hurricane storms tended to come more from the north, and Felra was the most protected island of them, making it the more logical choice from a safety standpoint.

Likewise, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy told Anne, Riku, and Kairi about Disney Castle, and gave Sora a little more information about it since he'd really only been inside the castle and not outside. In essence, there was a far green country beyond the castle's bounds, with many large towns and smaller villages spreading away from the castle, which acted almost like a central hub with a large modern town around it. Jiminy made mention that his world was rather like that too, except without the castle.

By the time all of this had been talked about and explained amongst them all, it was already getting close to nine in the evening, and the dishes had all been done and put away (mostly by Sora, Riku, and Kairi, as they had been the ones to vanish without a trace for varied amounts of time).

"You sure never told us this much about Destiny Islands Sora," Goofy said, still sitting at the table as Kairi put away her drying towel. "They way you put it, it seemed like your islands were small and boring."

"Well things certainly aren't boring anymore," Anne said before her son could answer. "The three missing teens are back, so that's going to cause a fuss. And since school will be starting up again soon they'll be busy with that, and Sora's going to have to learn tricks from Riku about beating the girls away with a stick," she added, smiling knowingly at Sora. "You've gotten rather handsome since you left."

"Mom," Soar groaned while Donald sniggered. "Stop embarrassing me in front of my friends."

Kairi stifled a yawn.

"And you two should be getting home yourselves," Anne continued sternly, seeing the tired look on the girl's face and knowing that Riku must be as exhausted as well. "Your parents will be worried enough about you."

"Alright, alright," Kairi said submissively. "Come on Riku." Riku started to follow Kairi, but King Mickey stopped them both.

"It would be best if we all got together to give your parents the story," he said. "That way, everyone knows what's been goin' on with the three of you. Could we all meet here tomorrow Anne?"

"Sure," Anne replied. "I have Sundays off anyway, and Janet's off tomorrow and Seymour never works weekends. I'm sure Rekun and Riley will be able to keep the store closed tomorrow too."

"Then it's decided," King Mickey said. "We meet here tomorrow and tell your parents what has happened since last summer."

Sora watched as Kairi and Riku made ready to leave, Goofy and King Mickey electing to go along with them to explain a little bit to their parents and ensure them that they will have a full explanation tomorrow.

"Mom," he asked without thinking, "can I walk home with them?" Kairi and Riku looked quizzically at Sora for a second. Riku's eyes darted to Kairi for a fraction of a second before he smiled the slightest of smiles and shook his head.

"Sora I'm not going to run off and nobody is going to kidnap Kairi again on our way home," Riku said humourously. "I think we'll be fine with King Mickey and Goofy, and Pluto," he added, looking at the King's dog, who barked.

"I'd still rather be sure that you both got back home safely," Sora said, looking away and folding his arms. "After all, I _did_ spend ages looking for the both of you."

"Alright Sora," said Anne. Sora looked at her in disbelief.

"Ser-seriously?" he asked. "I thought I was grounded?"

"If you keep bringing that up I won't let you go," replied Anne, her voice gaining a warning growl.

"Never mind," Sora said, his sock feet already carrying him towards his shoes at the door. Anne's laughter followed him as he frantically put his shoes on and opened the door.

"C'mon fellers," said Goofy, leaving first. "Let's get going, ahyuk!" The others nodded and followed Goofy out, pausing as Sora closed both doors behind him.

The streets were bathed in the soft orange light of the streetlamps as they strolled through the quiet nighttime city. Crickets chirped around them, adding to the sounds of their shoes that scraped against the cobblestones. Quite often their eyes would stray upwards to the skies when they were not immediately underneath a light, and since there was no moon that night, the sky was a black velvet blanket filled with a thousand tiny holes of white.

"Look at all the stars," said King Mickey, his voice contented and awed.

"They're beautiful," Kairi said, stopping and looking up at them. Sora stopped next to her and gazed at the stars as well, remembering his adventures amongst them. To see all those stars, all those restored worlds, it made his heart grow warm and he felt proud of himself for bringing back such a lovely sight.

But eventually their eyes had to be drawn back to the ground beneath them as they casually made their way towards Kairi's house first, since it was the closest to Sora's of the two. They rounded a bend onto Kairi's street and Sora noticed that Kairi's pace was slowing, as if she wanted to postpone the inevitable for as long as possible.

It couldn't last though, and eventually they reached her house and the three friends went up to the door while King Mickey and Goofy hung back to give them a moment. Kairi's slender hand reached out and grasped the handle of the white screen door and pulled it open to leave her standing in front of the door, the colour of which matched her auburn hair.

Sora watched as Kairi took a deep breath and her straying hand went away from the doorknob, choosing a different tactic than Sora had. The sound of the doorbell ran through his ears as she pushed the button. For a few moments the three of them waited with baited breath as the only sound in their ears was the echo of the doorbell. Kairi shifted anxiously and Sora scratched the back of his neck.

Then they heard footsteps on the other side of the door and the clicking of the lock as it slid out of its position. The three of them froze as the door opened and a woman almost stepped out. Her green eyes and rosy face were partially illuminated by the light in front of the house, and her brown hair was done up in a slightly loose knot on the back of her head. She was wearing a lime green tank top and a pair of white jeans.

The woman froze as stiffly as they did, and her eyes swiftly swerved between the three youth in front of her, finally resting on the girl that stood directly before her. "Kairi?" she asked quietly, frightfully even.

Kairi gave a sob and flung her arms around the woman, who embraced the girl as tightly as possible as both noses sniffled. "I'm home mom," Kairi whispered, audible even to King Mickey and Goofy as they stood further away. Kairi's mother's green eyes opened slightly as she stroked her daughter's auburn hair with one hand, and she looked over Sora and Riku from past Kairi's shoulder.

"You're back Kairi," she said softly, "you're all back, you're home."

"Janet?" a male voice called from inside the house. "Who is at the door?" The man stepped out and became rooted to the spot as his eyes fell upon his wife embracing the redheaded princess who was their adoptive daughter. He appeared a little sterner than Sora remembered, with a protruding chin, sweeping blonde bangs and hard grey eyes. His back seemed to be a little straighter than one's back normally is, as if the man were not slouching in the slightest, and he easily stood a head and a half taller than Sora, making him just a few inches taller than Riku.

Janet and Kairi broke out of the hug, and Kairi looked hopefully at her father. "Dad," she said quietly, "I'm home." He stared at Kairi for a few seconds, and Sora wondered just what it was that he would do, his face completely deadpan. And then his straight back crumpled and his grey eyes melted, and a slightly surprised Kairi was within his arms.

"My girl is home," he said. "Oh Kairi, I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you."

"It's okay daddy," Kairi sniffled. "You're here now, that's what matters." Kairi's father smiled through closed eyes as he hugged the smaller frame of his daughter tightly.

"You rarely ever call me 'daddy'," he said quietly. "Not even when you turned six."

"You'll always be my daddy," returned Kairi. "As long as you hug me like this, I don't care how little you see or talk to me, because now I know just how much you care for me."

"How could you ever think I didn't care?" her father asked, his voice revealing that he was a little hurt. "I'll always love and care about my little princess."

"Funny," Riku whispered to Sora, leaning down towards his friend, "'cause she really is one."

"Hm?" her father said, his eyes opening and taking in the sight of Sora and Riku standing there for the first time. He slowly withdrew from the hug with Kairi and surveyed them carefully. "So you're back too then."

"Yes sir," Sora said and nodded, unable to explain to himself why his voice had suddenly become shaky, or why he'd addressed Kairi's father Seymour as 'sir'.

_He's the mayor right?_ Roxas inquired. _Would that be enough of a reason to call him that?_

_Maybe…_

Seymour's eyes surveyed him alone for half a second before he chuckled. "What's that Sora? _Sir_? Since when have you ever called me that? Unless maybe you-" he froze and quickly looked at Kairi before turning back to Sora with eyes narrowed to a degree that caused Sora to take a tentative step back.

"What have you been doing with my daughter, boy?"

"Daddy…" Kairi groaned quietly, looking away.

"Aw, Sora hasn't been doing anything with Kairi," said Goofy, now coming up onto the porch with King Mickey as it appeared that the tearful reunion was over. Pluto stayed by the road. "In fact, Sora's spent a lot of the last year trying to find Kairi, ahyuk!"

Janet and Seymour looked curiously at the anthropomorphic dog and mouse for a second. "Who are you?" Janet asked.

"Name's Goofy," said Goofy, extending a hand.

"And I'm King Mickey Mouse," Mickey added, shaking hands after Goofy. "Ruler of Disney Castle."

"A king?" Seymour asked, surprised. He looked at Kairi suspiciously. "I didn't know that you were important enough to warrant a king from another world to look for you."

"She most definitely is that important," Sora said before he could stop himself. Seymour eyed Sora with a look that made Sora regret his words.

"She _is_?" he asked, not averting his eyes from the boy. Sora fumbled slightly on his feet and began rubbing the back of his head.

"Well yeah," Sora began stuttering. "I mean, Kairi-"

"Is the princess of Radiant Garden," Riku finished for Sora before the Keyblade Master could dig himself a deeper hole in Kairi's father's books.

"Why don't we discuss this inside?" Janet asked, moving to the side and motioning for them to enter the house as her husband gaped at his daughter for a few seconds, Kairi smiling sheepishly at him and shrugging slightly.

"That won't be necessary," said King Mickey. "We're actually all meeting at Sora's house tomorrow to explain the whole thing."

"Oh," Seymour said, looking at King Mickey again. "Well, in that case, we'll be there then." He placed a hand on Kairi's shoulder and tugged slightly. "Come on in Kairi, it's getting a little nippy out here." Kairi glanced at her friends and then at her father.

"Can I have a second dad?" she asked. Her father's eyes stole around for a second before returning to Kairi. He sighed and nodded his head before turning back into the house with his wife.

Kairi turned towards her friends and her arms came around Riku in a hug. Sora felt his face begin to grow warmer as he watched Riku hugging Kairi back. But the hug only lasted for a few seconds as Kairi whispered something to Riku before she turned to him and her arms had wrapped around his back. The warmth in Sora's cheeks rose only slightly, but he tenderly placed his arms around Kairi and squeezed back slightly.

The scent of strawberries assaulted Sora's sense of smell in the proximity between himself and Kairi, and he was dimly aware that Kairi was sighing contentedly in his arms as her head rested against his neck and shoulder. He could barely register the fact that she hadn't done this with Riku, or that the hug was lasting a lot longer than the one she'd given his other best friend. The next thing he knew, there was a soft voice whispering in his ear.

"Thank you for coming for me again," Kairi whispered.

"I couldn't just leave you there Kairi," Sora replied, slightly unsure of his words. "What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't come to help you?" Kairi drew back from the hug and looked into his eyes for a second, a smile on her face.

"The lazy kind, that's what," she answered with a slight giggle.

"Hey I-!" began Sora, but he froze suddenly as something soft, warm, and slightly moist briefly touched his cheek. It took him a second to realize that Kairi had just kissed him.

Sora looked at Kairi in amazement, but all she did was blush and avoid his eyes. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight Riku, Your Majesty, Goofy, Sora."

"'Night Kai," said Riku, smirking as Kairi quickly went through her doorway.

"Goodnight," Sora said softly just before the door closed.

_Goodnight Naminé,_ Roxas sighed within Sora's mind. The Keyblade Master took a tentative towards the closed doorway as it locked behind Kairi, and his shoulders sagged slightly. He wished that Kairi were still in his arms. His fingers unconsciously came up to touch the spot where Kairi had kissed him.

"Smooth Sora," Riku said, shaking his head and withdrawing down the porch. Sora turned around sharply and hotly pursued his best friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you," Riku answered simply.

"Hey come on Riku," Sora continued. He didn't understand what Riku's comment was all about, or why it seemed so uncalled for. What was Riku getting at, making a remark like that?

"Never mind," the older youth said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll see you tomorrow Sora."

"So you'll make it home alright then Riku?" Goofy asked.

"Mickey will be coming with me," Riku said, looking at both Goofy and the King, "and we all know that the real reason Sora came out was to spend a little more time with Kairi."

Sora glared at Riku but kept his mouth shut. He wouldn't dare try to deny it now that Kairi was out of earshot.

_Those girls have us bad, don't they?_ Roxas asked as Sora made his way back home with Goofy. Sora shook his head.

_You have never been more right Roxas,_ he thought. He touched his cheek again and felt both sides of his face growing red. Kairi's face swam before his eyes and he felt his knees nearly go numb.

_Pull it together man,_ Roxas quickly quipped. _We still need to get home._ Sora shook his head quickly to evict Kairi from his mind for a moment.

Sora and Goofy were silent for a little while as they walked down the streets, lit only by the light from the streetlamps and the stars that glittered above them. There was a kind of peace that stole through the air that Sora hadn't noticed before, a peace and a feeling that everything was alright. But Sora didn't really pay attention at first, his thoughts delved too far inwards.

"Sora?" Goofy asked suddenly. Sora stopped and turned to look at his friend.

"Huh? What is it Goofy?"

"Why the long face Sora?" Goofy asked. "You are back home after all, and we got Kairi, Riku, and the king back safely, so what's wrong?" Sora looked at Goofy in confusion and tilted and scratched his head for a second.

"That's actually a good question Goofy," he said after a few seconds. "I don't know. Something Riku said I think." From Sora's hood, Jiminy Cricket popped out and onto his shoulder.

"I don't know why anything Riku said to you back there would make you upset Sora," said Jiminy.

"It wasn't what he said," Sora replied, looking down slightly, "it was the way he said it."

"Huh?" Goofy asked.

"I think… I think he knows that I like Kairi," Sora replied. "But, ah, how am I supposed to know if she feels the same way? I mean, the- the… _kiss_ she just gave me could have been nothing more than a thank you for rescuing me kiss."

_Why would she give you a thank you kiss?_ Roxas asked.

"I don't know Roxas," Sora said aloud. "She's a princess. Maybe she figured it was in the princess code to give your rescuer a kiss or something."

Jiminy sighed. "Well, that's something that I think you'll have to figure out on your own Sora."

"But no worries Sora," said Goofy as the anthropomorph came up to stand beside him, "even if you don't know now, I'm sure that you'll find the answer you're looking for if you try talking to her." Goofy glanced around quickly before leaning in next to Sora's ear. "And if you want my personal opinion, I think she does like you Sora."

Sora looked at his friend in shock. "You- you do?"

"Well sure!" said Goofy, now starting to walk towards Sora's house again. "I mean, she did leave the islands to come looking for you didn't she? Just like we've spent so much time looking for her an' Riku. And she did kiss you after all, even if was just to thank you."

_Maybe Goofy's right,_ Roxas muttered in the back of Sora's mind.

"Just keep smilin' Sora," Goofy continued, "and everything will work out as it always has." Sora paused for half a second before a smile crept back onto his face. Goofy was right. He was home, and Riku and Kairi were back with him. The universe was saved, and despite his uncertainties about his romantic inclination towards the auburn-haired princess, there was nothing he could do about it but wait and see how Kairi herself felt.

When Sora arrived at his home again his mom ordered him to stay in the living room for a few minutes and then he watched for a moment as she directed Goofy to the downstairs guest room where Donald already was. He strangely had no thoughts going through his mind, and Roxas was only audibly wondering why his mother would have asked him to stay instead of sending him to his room.

The reason became apparent when Anne returned upstairs and came over to her son to give him a tight hug that lasted until Sora felt the weariness in his limbs and forced his way away from his mother and to his room. He didn't want to leave her embrace as much as he hadn't wanted Kairi to leave his arms earlier. He truly felt glad to be home, just him and his mother together; her hands softly cradling his head and shoulders. It had to end though with a kiss on his forehead and a whispered goodnight as he went upstairs to his room.

He didn't understand what his mother had been talking about when she said that it was a mess. He was able to navigate a path to his bed even while being half asleep. He did have to make a rather confined high jump and was forced to glide for a second though, so maybe there was a little merit in his mom's statement. He watched for a moment as Jiminy Cricket emerged from his hood and jumped onto a pillow that for whatever reason Sora couldn't remember had been lying on the floor. But he decided to worry about that later as, yawning widely, he got into pajamas that he found were now more than a little tight. He bid Jiminy and Roxas goodnight, and turned his head into his pillow and drifted off to sleep.

-A-D-

Even as Sora was returning to his house with Goofy and Jiminy Cricket, Riku was still standing outside of his own house, looking at it with anxious fear. King Mickey and Pluto stood beside him, silent and supportive. Riku's heart was tightening and his doubts slowly increased as he stared at his home.

"I don't know if I can do this Mickey," he said, the only one to call the monarch by just his first name.

"Riku?"

"I gave into the darkness. I put my friends in danger. I fought with Sora over Kairi. I tried to _kill_ them! My best friends! How can I face my parents after all I did?" Riku turned and looked at King Mickey. The mouse looked sympathetically at him.

"I know you've done some awful things Riku," King Mickey said, "but sometimes we have to take a step back to look on how far we've come. Since facing Sora and Kairi again, and knowing that they both forgive you for what you did, how do you feel about your friends?"

Riku was silent for a few seconds before a smile crept onto his face from underneath his aqua eyes. "That they're both love-struck saps who care too much for their best friend."

King Mickey laughed. "Exactly Riku. They both love you as they do, and despite all you did the love of your friendship still shines through and overcomes the darkness you brought. If your friends can forgive you, why not your parents?" Pluto barked encouragingly.

Riku was quiet for another second before he spoke again. "You're right Mickey." Without another word he started going up the walk that led to his front door. He opened the screen door and checked the front door, locked. Smiling, he pulled his house key out of the back pocket of his jeans and fitted it into the lock on the painted-white door. It worked the mechanisms with satisfying metallic noises before the door was unlocked and his key was back in his pocket.

As he opened the door, he let out a call. "Mom? Dad? I'm home." Several seconds passed by before he heard the rushing of footsteps. His mother's face appeared from the kitchen and his father looked in from the living room. Both of them appeared stunned by his sudden reappearance in their lives.

Riku gulped, unsure of their faces. His heart was clenching in fear and suspense, and he found that tears he hadn't shed in years were starting to well up in his eyes. He hadn't thought that seeing his mother's face again would make him so emotional. But he refused to let them fall, the aqua eyes he had gained from his father constantly switching back and forth between the two pairs of eyes that studied his face.

But soon, with no one making a move, the wetness in his eyes had grown too much to see straight, and Riku dipped his head to wipe the tears away. As soon as he broke eye contact his mother blazed ten feet past his father and swept her son up in a hug. Riku was caught off-guard by the move, but didn't mind as his arms moved away from his face and grasped his mother by the shoulders and drew the woman closer. His shoulders sagged and shook, and he didn't care anymore that he truly was crying now. Another set of arms wrapped around him and Riku finally opened his eyes to look past his mother's silver hair at his father's face. Both of them had their eyes open and were smiling at him, his mom stroking his cheek with a soft hand.

He was home.

-A-D-

Sora awoke the next morning at a time he normally wouldn't have even considered for the summer, or even any regular Sunday for that matter. Leaping up from his bed in a great bound, Sora was the ultimate of poise and grace dignifying him as the Keyblade Master when he tripped over a book that had lain concealed underneath a pair of jeans that were now too small, and slammed his face into the closed wooden door of his room. Sora's eyes watered from the pain as his face slid down the door's frame, and he fumed internally because now he was wide awake, and would be unable to go back to sleep after just realizing now what the time actually was.

_It's your fault that I'm awake now you klutz!_ Roxas said, his tone indicating that he had just been awoken and was now in a foul mood.

_Sorry, sorry, man Roxas you sure can be a grouch in the morning._ Sora replied, squeezing his watering eyes shut and rubbing his face. He got up and went downstairs groaning and moaning about being up at seven-thirty.

Donald was sitting at the table, a pancake in his bill, with only a couple left on his plate. His mother was her chair in a light pink housecoat, drinking a cup of coffee, and Jiminy was eating a piece of toast. Goofy was rubbing his stomach and complimenting Anne on her cooking. Sora smiled as he looked down at his plate, three slices of bacon, two moderately sized pancakes with whipped cream on top, and two scrambled eggs. He swiftly devoured his breakfast, a sudden ravenous hunger engulfing him. As Sora drained his glass of orange juice, his mother addressed him for the first time this morning.

"If I'd known that you were this hungry, I would have made saved another pancake from Donald," she chuckled, shaking her head. Then her voice shifted and Sora looked anxiously at his mother. "Now, since you're back home and everything, perhaps you'd be able to tell me _where you've been all this time?_"

Sora gulped as he saw the small smile she wore slip away while saying each word. He knew that this would come, but he still wouldn't like explaining everything to his mother.

"However," she said, lightening up a little while she sipped her coffee. "I suppose you could wait until everyone has arrived." She nodded her head towards the stairs after glancing at the clock. "Go upstairs and change. They'll be here in fifteen minutes."

Sora groaned. "Why is everyone coming over at _eight_? Why can't we save this until nine?"

"Because you were gone long enough that we felt that eight would be an appropriate time to begin explaining everything," Anne replied.

"Eight is an appropriate time for sleeping," Sora muttered under his breath as he stalked up the stairs.

_You said it._

Exactly fifteen minutes later Sora had showered and changed back into his black adventuring outfit made for him by Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, minus his shoes, and calmly walked down the stairs. He even felt confident enough by now to tackle almost any question about his adventures that someone could throw at him. Then just as he was about to step into the living room, with his mother already on the couched dressed in a blue t-shirt and beige pair of shorts, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," he duly declared as he heavily stepped towards the door. He took a long look at it before he opened the wooden door behind the screen. Sora sighed as he pulled the door open.

He could smell Kairi just before he even saw her. The scent of strawberries was too pleasant in the morning for it to belong to anyone else. Sora smiled as he opened up the white screen door for her.

"Morning Sora," she said brightly, standing in the doorway with Seymour and Janet.

"Morning Kairi," he replied, blushing very slightly and pretending, like Kairi appeared to be doing, that the kiss last night had never existed. "Morning Seymour, Janet."

"Good morning Sora," Janet said, smiling at him and rumpling his spiky hair affectionately with a hand. "So everything wasn't a dream last night then? You really are back."

"Yep," Sora said, swatting her hand away. She'd been running her hand through his hairstyle for years.

Seymour chuckled slightly. "Well, are you going to invite us in, or would you rather explain to me everything you've been doing with my daughter out here?" Sora froze for a second and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked, stepping aside. Seymour laughed slightly and shook his head before he entered and removed his shoes.

"Anne?" he asked. "Anne where are you so that we can deal with where this scruffy son of yours who might want to date my daughter sometime soon has been?"

"Dad!" Kairi whined, her face turning a colour to match her hair, "Sora and I are just friends!"

"In here Seymour," Anne laughed in the living room. "They'll explain everything in here."

Seymour passed by Sora and Janet did as well, once more smiling and ruffling Sora's hair as she went past. He tried to fight her off, but it was no use as she had come and gone too quickly for Sora to dodge it. Kairi giggled at his antics at trying to protect his hairstyle and Sora frowned at her.

"I'd forgotten how annoying that was Kairi," he said.

"What?" Kairi asked in shock. "You'd forgotten how annoying one of my mother's habits with you had been after only a year and a month of it not happening?"

_It's because he hit his head too many times when bumping it with Heartless,_ Roxas sniggered.

"Naminé agrees with whatever he just said," Kairi said, looking at Sora quizzically. Sora rolled his eyes.

"Yeah sure, looks like they can talk to each other when we're together Kairi," he said.

"Well that's good," another voice said, "then you won't have to ferry messages across about how much they love each other."

_Shut up Riku!_ Roxas yelled as Sora's eyes encompassed his other best friend's arrival with his father Rekun, his mother Riley, and King Mickey and Pluto. Rekun was still half a head taller than Riku was, which made him very tall compared to Sora, and his aqua eyes clearly smiled from behind blonde locks when they fell upon Sora. Riley was Riku's current height down to the last hair on her silver-clad head, but that would likely soon change as her son was destined to eclipsed her.

"You look just like your father did when he was your age Sora," Rekun said, coming up first and giving him a pat on the shoulder. Sora smiled and placed his hand over the older man's and nodded appreciatively. Riku's father had been his dad's best friend and partner in his dad's fishing business, before that was destroyed by the accident out at sea which Sora would not speak about. Rekun had given him the details when he had asked at the age of ten, and it only served to build up Sora's respect for his departed father and make him proud whenever someone compared him favourably to Macellry, or Mac as he was often called.

Rekun, Riley, and King Mickey moved past them into the living room, where Sora, Riku, and Kairi could hear the adults greeting each other before waiting patiently for the three youth to arrive in the room.

Sora sighed and looked at his friends. "Well, you guys ready?"

"I don't think we'll ever be ready to tell our parents about what we did," Riku said quietly. "But, let's do it. Whether they believe it or not, we know it happened."

"If it happens again," Kairi sighed, "I'm going with both of you."

Sora frowned at Kairi again and shook his head quickly. "No you aren't."

"What?" Kairi asked heatedly, rounding on him. "You told me before that I couldn't come when you went off to fight Ansem and bring Riku back because it was too dangerous. Don't give me that excuse again!"

"But it is too dangerous," Sora said, not budging an inch. "You'd be safer-"

Kairi cut him off. "Where? Here on the islands? Axel came to kidnap me just after school got out so that the Organization could use me to get to you. If anything starts happening again and you both get dragged into it the safest place I'll be is right next to you."

"I don't like it Sora but she does have a good point," Riku said.

"What about all the Heartless?" Sora asked. "Are you sure you want to willingly place yourself in that kind of a place?"

"Willingly no," Kairi said. "I'd rather there not be anything more but if there is-"

"We're waiting Sora…" Anne called from the living room.

"Coming mom," Sora answered before looking at Kairi. "We'll finish talking about this later."

Sora's living room was a perfect square. A little back from the center, towards the kitchen it had a cream coloured couch half facing the large window that displayed Anne's flower gardens, and half facing the spherevision set. There was also a brown coffee table in front of said couch, a standing lamp behind an armchair in one corner, and several beanbags of different colours in front of the SV. On the couch sat all of their parents. King Mickey sat in the armchair, looking quite comfortable; while on two of the five beanbags sat Donald and Goofy (both looking a quite patient). Pluto was splayed on the floor underneath the coffee table, sleeping. Jiminy Cricket was on the floor in front of the beanbags with his journal in front of him. It was separated into two different volumes (one for each journey) and a scrapbook. Both volumes and the scrapbook, which was considerably larger due to the size of the photos, were in his customary books bound with blue leather with a three-pronged golden crown embossed on the front. Jiminy had been able to rewrite the entries of the first journey from their collective memories over the many boring nights they had had when travelling from place to place aboard the _Highwind_. King Mickey noticed their entrance and signalled them to sit in the three remaining beanbags. Sora sighed and shook his head as he, Riku, and Kairi sat down.

"Now then," Mickey began, much to the parents' anxiety. "I believe we should start at the beginning, with Sora, Kairi, and Riku here last summer, before all this started." Sora looked up and saw their parents nodding in agreement, all of them knowing that it was around that time when all of the craziness started. Even Donald and Goofy looked at each other, as they had only heard the story once. King Mickey then looked expectantly at the trio. "Well?" he asked. Riku sighed, it was clear to him that he should be the one to start.

"Well," he began, it all started when I got it into my head to build a raft…"

The three told them practically everything about what happened before Sora awoke in Traverse Town. About Sora's dream, the raft, Riku's desire to see other worlds, the Door, Mysterious Man, everything except for Sora's drawing and Kairi joking about both her and Sora taking the raft together. At first, while Donald, Goofy, and Mickey were fascinated and listening attentively, the parents were only mildly interested, while Seymour watched Sora with narrowed eyes. Their attention however was captured when Sora began explaining about the Mysterious Man in the brown cloak, who coincidentally turned out to be Xehanort's Heartless (but they weren't about to tell their parents that yet). They pressed Sora and he told them all he could remember. Sora then told them about when he came back to the island during the storm the Heartless had appeared, and about Riku opening his heart to the darkness. He told them of the island's destruction, the Keyblade's appearance, Kairi vanishing, and fighting the Darkside.

It was here that the four parents in the room were completely enthralled in the story, as Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy gave them a retelling of their first journey, with many needed explanations on Heartless, side comments from Riku and the King, and many readings from Jiminy's journal, until they finally got to the part with Ansem's defeat, the reformation of the islands, and leaving Kairi behind so Sora and the others could search for Riku and the King. By the end Kairi and Anne were beaming at Sora with admiration and pride.

"And then the last thing I remember before waking up," Sora stated foolishly with a puzzled look on his face, "is a big brown castle. I have no idea what it is." He said apologetically. He looked at Donald and Goofy, neither of them seemed to know what that place was either. Riku however, showed sudden interest.

"That's Castle Oblivion," he explained, looking directly at Sora. "The Organization was doing experiments on memory there. I had to fight my way through the basement levels and combat the darkness in my heart while we were separated. I wondered at first what you were doing there, but now I know." He turned to Kairi, and the girl looked at him curiously before looking around her to see if someone else was around.

"What?" she asked, noticing that every eye was now on her.

"I think I can answer what Riku's talking about."

A transparent girl suddenly faded into existence in front of Kairi's beanbag, to the surprise and horror of the adults there. To Sora and the others, it was just another commonplace occurrence of mystery that barely fazed them. The girl stood at Kairi's exact height and her eyes were the very same shade of indigo as the auburn-haired girl behind her. She was dressed in a strapped white sundress that ended near the top of her thighs; and her shoulder-length white-blonde hair curled upwards slightly around the front of her right shoulder-blade.

Kairi smiled. "So," she began, "you can come out of my head too?" She then turned her head to look at Sora. "Sora, do you think Roxas can do this too?" Sora shrugged.

"Possibly, want to try buddy?"

_Here goes nothing__,_ came the reply from the now familiar voice in his head. Slowly, Roxas faded in also being a transparent figure, standing next to Naminé. They looked at each other and grinned before they hugged in greeting. Sora cleared his throat, breaking up the two Nobodies from their hug as it lasted a little _too_ long for it to just be a 'hello, good to see you' embrace.

"So," he began with a small smirk on his face, "what were you saying about knowing why we were in Castle Oblivion and what happened to us?"

Before Naminé could answer, their parents suddenly snapped out of the petrified state they had been in since Naminé appeared before everyone. "There are ghosts in my house!" Anne started shrieking. Riku's mother fainted, his father nearly threw up, Kairi's mother gripped her husband's arm and her father could barely ask the one question the five of them were terrified of asking.

"Who- who- who are- are you?" he finally managed to squeak out. Naminé placed her hand over her "heart".

"My name is Naminé…" she began. Roxas pumped his fist.

"And I'm Roxas." He finished. They both bowed before their "parents".

Sora let out a sigh of relief, wiped his brow and glanced at Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and the King. None of who were truly surprised.

"So," he began again, "about Castle Oblivion Naminé." She put her finger to her chin, and then looked down sadly.

"Oh right… you really don't remember do you?"

Sora frowned. "Remember what?" Naminé sat down on the floor just in front of Kairi's legs and the girl shifted them so that her Nobody could rest her transparent back against the beanbag. Roxas sat down in an equal position in front of Sora.

"There was something I explained to you, and something you said back," Naminé answered. "Something we figured out about memories. Even though the chains of memories within our hearts can be rearranged and broken, the links will still be there. All it takes is the return of one memory, and then we'll remember another memory, and then another and then another, in a chain."

"Um… okay," Sora said, cocking his head to one side and rubbing it. Naminé leaned off the beanbag and crawled a little bit closer to Sora before extending her right pinkie finger towards him.

"A pinky swear?" Sora said, looking at Naminé in confusion before reaching out his own pinkie and wrapping it around the girl's spectral one. He looked sheepishly at Naminé for a moment before he gasped and recoiled, his hands clutching his head.

"Sora?" Anne asked anxiously, rising from her seat on the overburdened couch.

"Sora!" Goofy cried suddenly as he, Donald, and Jiminy Cricket all began grasping their heads in pain, "What's goin' on?"

Sora wasn't quite sure himself, he was in too much pain to answer. His head was giving him the most painful headache he'd ever had, even more painful than being hit that one time by Saïx's claymore. Images kept flowing past his mind, too quickly for him to grasp them and identify what they were in a confusing blur. Kairi placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder and looked at Naminé in concern.

Roxas though apparently knew what was happening to him. "He's regaining his memories," he said.

"Like he said," Naminé added, "the memories were lost, but not forgotten."

"What?" Rekun asked.

No one answered him, and after a minute the pain in Sora's head subsided and he, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy were all sweating and breathing heavily. Sora slowly turned his head to look at Donald and smiled. "_Who_ was the one who took forever to notice that I became a Heartless and kept clobbering me?"

Donald frowned. "Why'd you have to go and bring that up?"

Sora laughed and looked at Naminé instead. "Thank you Naminé. Thank you for giving me my real memories back, and for having me remember what happened to us in Castle Oblivion. Now we can become friends for real like we promised."

Naminé smiled and nodded her head. "Of course."

"I just have one question before we start telling everyone about what we just remembered," Sora said, folding his arms and looking at the blonde female Nobody as she went back to resting against Kairi's beanbag. "How many times did Larxene insult me behind my back?"

"Huh?"

"You know," Sora said, rolling his eyes. "Call me stupid, an idiot, a baby, that sort of thing."

"Oh," Naminé answered after realizing what he meant. She smiled and shook her head. "You don't want to know how many times."

Sora nodded. "Fair enough."

"So…" Seymour began, reminding them that their parents were still in the room and looking at them with blank expressions, "what and what and what?"

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy explained about their arrival in Castle Oblivion, the appearance of the man in the black hooded cloak who had lured them there, and the ways of travelling through the castle's floors, dealing with cards, as well as the cryptic messages left to them by Marluxia and Axel.

"To lose is to find," Jiminy quoted, "and to find is to lose."

"When true memories awaken you may no longer be who you are," said Sora, remembering what Axel had said to him after first testing him. "I can't believe I had actually already met Axel, or that I believed him!"

"What?" Kairi asked, looking at Sora. Sora looked away, and he, Donald, and Goofy continued to explain about continuing through the floors of Castle Oblivion, each floor having been created from cards made out of his memories of the worlds he had visited on his first journey. But as they journeyed higher up the floors and they had slowly been forgetting things about their previous journey, Sora started to relate how he had been having memories return to him, memories about another girl who had played on the islands with him, Riku, and Kairi.

His mother looked at him quizzically. "But, there never was another girl," she said, "unless you count Selphie."

"It wasn't Selphie," Sora said, shaking his head. "The girl I started to remember was Naminé." Kairi looked sharply at her Nobody.

"You?" she asked.

Naminé nodded her head sadly. "Yes," she answered. "It was all part of Marluxia's and Larxene's plan to overthrow Organization XIII."

"What plan?" Riley asked. "And what is Organization XIII?"

"We'll get to that and them later," Riku said. "But the people in black cloaks that Sora had been meeting in Castle Oblivion were members of the Organization."

"The next one we met," Sora continued, his voice shaking slightly as he restrained his anger and frustration, "was Larxene."

"The only girl in the Organization," Roxas said.

"She fought with me, Donald, and Goofy," added Sora without skipping a beat, "and a star-shaped good luck charm came out from one of my pockets and she got me to remember Naminé's name. After that she told me that Naminé wanted to see me and that she was being held in Castle Oblivion by the bad guys, who she told us she was one of. I was so angry at her."

Sora fell silent, brooding, and Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy took up the story. "We went on through the next floor," Goofy said, "and after that we found someone we had been searching for: Riku."

"Huh?" Riku asked. "I never met you guys in Castle Oblivion."

"It never was you Riku," Donald said.

"That's right," continued Jiminy. "It was a replica of you created by Vexen. Your replica continued picking fights with us and said some pretty awful things to Sora, and kept saying that the only thing that mattered to you was protecting Naminé, even from us."

"I'm having just about enough of how much Organization XIII toyed with you Sora," Riku grumbled.

"All the same," Jiminy said, "we thought it really was you, and that you'd just forgotten how close friends you and Sora were."

Riku looked up painfully at Sora, but both their eyes were averted from each other. "How could you ever think that I'd forget about our friendship Sora?"

"Well," Sora muttered, "you kinda did when you were working with Maleficent."

"Don't be so hard on Riku Sora!" Donald said.

"Yeah," Goofy added. "It was that old witch who tricked Riku into thinking that it was _you_ who had forgotten about your friendship after all."

Sora was quite for a second. "Right… sorry Riku."

"Forget about it Sora," Riku said, nodding his head sympathetically.

"But even if it really _had_ been you," Sora continued, his voice shaking with poorly restrained sadness, "you still could have forgotten."

"How can you think that?" Riku asked.

"Because I," Sora said, still struggling. "I was the one who forgot about the person who I care most for."

"It isn't your fault that that happened," Naminé said quickly before anyone could interrupt. "I was the one who did it to you Sora. I was the one who made you think that it was me you cared most for."

"We made our way up through the remaining floors of Castle Oblivion," Jiminy said immediately after Naminé to cut short the interruptions that would cause Sora to answer questions he knew the boy was still figuring out himself, giving him just a little more time to learn what was in his heart. "We met Vexen, a scientist and master of blizzard magic, who gave us a card to a town that he told us was crafted from memories from the other side of his heart. We sure didn't know what it meant at the time, but we do now."

"What do you mean?" Anne asked. "Memories from the other side of his heart?"

"The world was Twilight Town," Sora answered, looking at Roxas. Roxas whipped around.

"Twilight Town?" he asked. "Did you meet-?"

"No," Sora answered. "The only ones we met in that world were Heartless until we reached that old locked-up mansion. I knew that I'd never been to Twilight Town before, but now that I know that it was where you were from, I understand why I felt as if it was familiar to me. Then Vexen appeared and posed a question before me. 'Your feelings about this place or your memories of Naminé, which is the more real I wonder?' I answered that it was Naminé and that my feelings for Twilight Town was just another one of his tricks. He said that if I remained bound by the chain of memories within my heart that I should throw it away, that I wasn't a Keyblade Master. Vexen then said some stuff about his Riku, and we didn't know that he meant that the Riku we'd been encountering was his replica. I was so confused and angry, that I fought with him, and beat him. Even on his knees, Vexen said that if I continued to bind myself to the false memories I had that Marluxia's hold on me would tighten, and I'd end up becoming his pawn. But then Axel showed up and killed Vexen to keep him from talking."

"He killed him?" Roxas asked, stunned.

"'You can be nothing instead of just being a Nobody,' were his words," Sora answered. He shuddered and shook his head. "It was horrible to watch him fade away. But after we got out of Twilight Town we met up with Riku's replica again, and found that we both had good-luck charms supposedly given to us by Naminé, that we both had the same memory of promising to protect her."

"Both memories were fake Sora," Naminé said sadly. "You never promised me anything."

"I know that Naminé," Sora answered. "But at the time they were real to me. Riku and I fought again, and the charm he had turned into another card, Destiny Islands. I said some pretty bad things to Donald and Goofy, and you too Jiminy, and I'm still sorry about that. I was… obsessed with the promise I had remembered making to Naminé, and obsessed with the thought of finding her."

"It was at this time that Axel showed me his true feelings," Naminé said, "and let me escape. I met Sora, and the figment of myself in Sora's memory in Destiny Islands and told him that I had never existed in his heart, or anyone's, or anywhere. I had never been on Destiny Islands, and I wasn't the one he cared most for."

"Wait," Kairi said slowly, looking at both Sora and Naminé in confusion. "Where was I in all of this? Shouldn't you have been remembering me, Riku, _and_ Naminé instead of just you, Riku, and Naminé?"

Sora and Naminé both looked away from Kairi in shame. Naminé spoke first. "I had removed the chains that bound you to Sora's memory Kairi," she said quietly, "and in so doing, made Sora consciously forget about you. But when I asked Sora to bring back his true memories, I asked him to think one more time about who it was that was most important to him. He looked at the good-luck charm that he thought that I had given him, and it turned back into what it truly was, the charm that _you_ had given him. In confusion Sora had looked at the false memory of me and-"

"Naminé!" Sora said, still looking away.

"I'm sorry Sora, but it has to be said. It turned into-"

"Me," Kairi interrupted, looking at Sora. "I'm the one who is most important to you Sora, aren't I? That's why-?"

"Yes," Sora said quietly, still looking away.

"That's why there's that drawing in the Secret Place," Kairi murmured. Sora whipped around and looked into Kairi's eyes in horror.

"You saw that?" he squeaked.

"You still need to see what I added," Kairi replied, blushing and nodding.

"After Sora and I got out of the twelfth floor's room," Jiminy quickly said, "we still couldn't remember Kairi's name, but we remembered her face. We talked to you Naminé, before we encountered and fought against Vexen's Riku Replica one last time. Sora beat him again, and still thinking that he really was Riku, went to help him when he was down. But Riku struck out against Sora and prepared to finish him."

"Until I called for him to stop," Naminé said. "That broke the fake heart in Vexen's replica and turned him into a lifeless puppet. Then Larxene showed up and told Sora about my power over memories, and that all of both his and Riku's memories about me were completely fake. But Sora persisted that the even though the memory of the promise he'd made to me was fake, that the promise to protect me was real to him, and he insisted on protecting me from Larxene, tired and beat-up though he was."

"And then we showed up!" Goofy said. "And together we protected both Sora and Naminé and brought down Larxene. Naminé then told us everything about how she had been forced by Marluxia to manipulate Sora's and our memories or else she'd be left alone in Castle Oblivion."

"I had been alone since I came into being," said Naminé. "I couldn't bear the thought of being by myself again."

"But we agreed to help Naminé and take down Marluxia," Goofy said. "And so we went up to the thirteenth floor, and when we found Marluxia he was already in a fight with Axel."

"Axel found out that Marluxia and Larxene had planned on making Sora into Naminé's puppet," Jiminy said. "Then, using both Naminé and Sora, they would overthrow the Organization."

"Marluxia had kidnapped me and was using me as a human shield," Naminé said. "Axel was willing to go through me to get to Marluxia, but I know that he would never have let the fire he used touch a hair on my head. His quarrel was with Marluxia and Marluxia alone. Still, when Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived Marluxia vanished, and I can only expect that you lot beat Axel."

"Yeah," Donald answered for Sora, who still wasn't speaking and was looking at Kairi just as she continued to look at him, "but he didn't fade away like Larxene did. He got away in a dark portal."

"And then we went and beat Marluxia with help from Riku's replica," Goofy said. "And after that Naminé gave Sora the choice to return our memories to the way they were, making us forget all about Castle Oblivion, or keep our muddled memories."

"And I said to make me like I was," Sora spoke after his time of silence. "It was nothing against you Naminé, but I wanted to remember Kairi and all my other friends."

"You wanted to remember the person most important to you," Kairi said, looking away shyly.

"And then Naminé had us go to sleep for a year in flower-shaped pods while she worked on rearranging our memories," Jiminy said.

They were all silent for a few minutes before realizing that it was time for lunch. Seymour said that he'd go out and get lunch for everyone, and Rekun agreed to go with him. The group broke apart into different small groupings, the three mothers going over to the table and beginning to talk to each other. Eventually Sora and Kairi found that they were the only ones still in the living room, but neither of them would look at the other.

Sora sighed and kept his eyes directed to his feet. His heart was pounding in his chest. He knew exactly what it was he was feeling, and knew exactly what his adventure story to find his two friends had managed to turn into. It was a love story between him and Kairi, and sooner or later he'd have to fess up and tell her face to face that he _did_ love her, and not keep beating around the bush and saying so in more words than the three little ones everyone longed to hear.

But he was afraid. What was it that Kairi had mentioned that she'd added to their drawing in the Secret Place? What if Kairi didn't feel the same way? All the signs told him that she did, but he could help but be afraid that she didn't. He was surprised that the thought of not knowing for sure that Kairi _did_ like him that way was scaring him more than the prospect of facing death did. Kairi scared him more than the thought of Sephiroth, a man whose name sent icy shivers down his spine, did.

That was when he suddenly picked up the sound of the auburn-haired princess of Radiant Garden moving on her beanbag, moving closer to him! "Sora…" she said quietly.

Almost dreading what he would see, Sora turned around to look at her. "Ye-yeah Kairi?" Her eyes were averted from his own, same as he was doing, but he was able occasionally to see them flicking up to try and make contact.

"I- I want you to know," she said, her words sounding a little strained, a little flustered, and coming from a very uncertain tongue, "that I forgive you for forgetting about me."

"Huh?" Sora asked, looking into her eyes for the first time.

"Truthfully," Kairi continued, breaking eye contact before both of them lost themselves in it, "when Naminé was working on your memories I mostly forgot about you too. I couldn't remember your face or your name, and I felt terrible about it. Sora, I care- I care a lot about you too."

Sora's eyes sought hers, and when they finally caught them something in his heart caught fire. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly found it blocked by Kairi's finger.

"I don't need to hear it now," she said, "because we both know it in our hearts that we do. Can you wait until the moment is right Sora? I want it to be special."

Sora smiled at her and nodded. "Okay Kairi." She smiled back and lightly kissed his cheek again, the same spot her lips had graced it the previous night.

"Thanks Sora," she said. They were both silent for a few seconds.

"Do you think that it's obvious?" Sora asked. Kairi giggled slightly.

"After all you did I think we were both stupid to not realize it until it was finally looked at under a microscope," she said. Sora smiled again and quickly shifted over as Kairi suddenly plopped herself down on his beanbag next to him.

"What are you doing Kai?" he asked.

Kairi blew a small tuft of her hair out of her eyes. "Sitting next to you silly. What's it look like?"

"Well I-"

"Do you not want me to sit with you Sora?" Kairi asked, resting her head on his shoulder. Sora blushed and looked around desperately for a second, trying to figure out what to do. He inhaled and smiled, and wrapped his right arm around Kairi's waist and brought her closer.

"I just wanted you a little closer Kairi," he said, answering the flickering glance she sent his way. Kairi nestled herself a little bit closer into his side while her head still rested on his shoulder.

"I'm grounded for a week too," Kairi said in a quiet voice. "So let's see how long we can keep this hug up for shall we? I think the one we had in that castle was much too short."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, I do too. Hey, I know something we can do while we wait for yours and Riku's dad to get back with the food."

Kairi removed her head from his shoulder and looked curiously at him. "What?"

"We can bug Roxas and Naminé," Sora answered. Kairi laughed deviously.

_Oh Roxas,_ Sora thought. _Whatchya doing?_

_Just hanging out with Naminé in the basement, why?_

_Ah, hanging out huh?_

_Yes… why do you ask?_

_Are you really hanging out, or are you making out with Naminé?_

_What?! Sora– no I'm not making out with Naminé! And what did I tell you about poking fun at my feelings for her?_

Sora sent Roxas the mental equivalent of laughing at him. "I think that I just made Roxas both angry and embarrassed," he laughed, turning to Kairi. She was smiling smugly herself, probably enjoying in tormenting her own Nobody.

_That does it!_ Roxas said. _I love you, you love me, we are one big family…_

Sora's eyes widened exponentially and he nearly screamed audibly. _NO! Roxas don't—please stop! I swear I won't make another comment again! Just please, please stop!_

Sora received a feeling of warning in Roxas' coming reply. _Alright fine, I will. But if you make one more remark like that again I won't stop._

"Sora what's wrong?" Kairi asked concernedly. "You're white as a sheet."

Sora growled slightly and looked shakily at Kairi. "Roxas started to sing songs from Barney at me," he answered. Kairi winced.

The door opened and closed with a sudden _slam_, immediately followed by Seymour's voice. "We're back! And we've got burgers and fries for everyone!"

"Sweet!" Sora said. "Fast food! I'm dying for something greasy that wants to kill me." He was about to get up, then remembered that he was still holding Kairi close and that her arm had snaked around his torso. He looked at her, smiled again, and stayed sitting on the beanbag. Riku came into view from the front hall carrying a brown paper bag that was full of the stuff and saw the two of them sitting in that position. He smirked and made his way as directly to them as he could.

"So does this mean that you two are _finally_ together?" he asked, dropping himself onto the beanbag formerly sat upon by Kairi and placing the bag of food between them.

"I don't know Riku," Sora answered with a laugh, "but Kairi doesn't seem to want to let go." Kairi let go of him and playfully pushed Sora over while her hands went to grab a burger from the bag.

"Did I hear something about my son finally going out with the girl he's had his eyes on for years?" Anne asked mischievously, coming into sight of the living room from the dining area. Behind her came Janet and Riley, both of them smiling and giggling at Sora and Kairi like they were teenagers themselves.

"Mom!" Sora moaned, getting back up with a scarlet face.

"About time!" Donald said, coming into the room from upstairs. Sora was about to grumble at him too when the court magician suddenly continued. "I'm starving." King Mickey, Goofy, and Jiminy entered from outside with Rekun and Seymour, and Naminé and Roxas both came up from the basement, giving Sora and Kairi glares once they spotted the duo still sharing the beanbag.

Seymour sighed and took a long look at Sora as the boy anxiously grabbed a burger and fries from the bag Riku brought in. After close to ten seconds of surveying him he began to grumble. "If you're going to be seeing my daughter Sora," he said at length, "there are a few rules that must be observed."

"Dad we aren't going out yet," Kairi said, starting to blush. "We just—we know that we're probably going to be seeing a lot more of each other than before, sometimes it might even be just the two of us together."

"Dating or not yet," Seymour said, waving off Kairi's comments, "I don't want any funny business, and I want Kairi home by ten every night. And I do hope you remember that you're grounded for the rest of the week Kairi."

Kairi grimaced. "Yes dad, I remember." She bit into her burger and looked at Naminé as she and Roxas sat down next to each other on Riku's other side, though it did look somewhat funny since the beanbag didn't deform in any way. "Aren't you going to have any Naminé?"

Naminé folded her arms and glared at Kairi.

"Oh that's right," Sora said in a teasing voice, "you and Roxas can't actually eat can you?"

"One of these days I'm going to kill you Sora," Roxas muttered darkly. "Or I'll find a way to become able to eat."

-A-D-

Their lunch was swiftly devoured, and soon afterwards Riku told his tale of adventuring through Castle Oblivion's basement floors and about his conflicts with Ansem, and the darkness within his own heart and the Organization members that he encountered. He explained how he met Naminé and a man named DiZ, and how he agreed to help them while Naminé worked on returning Sora's memories to the way they were, and how he had meant to give Sora a piece of his mind for not staying on the islands to take care of Kairi when the brunette woke up, but in the end, wasn't able to. So Riku used the opportunity to vent at Sora right there, while the boy and Kairi simply smiled at him through it all until Riku was forced to laugh.

He spoke of how he fought and captured Roxas, succumbing to the darkness within his heart in order to do it. Roxas then took it up, telling of his days in the virtual Twilight Town and the dreams he had been having while Sora's most recent memories were being returned to the way they had been. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket then began to speak, and told the parents everything from the time they awoke in the mansion in the real Twilight Town until the defeat of Xemnas. Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and King Mickey added in points here and there as they were needed, and by the time the clock had struck three-thirty in the afternoon Sora was confident that both he and his mother understood just about everything that had happened while he was away.

There had been several instances in which the now semi-confirmed romance between Sora and Kairi became painfully obvious to both parties and the telling of stories resembled something more akin to Sora relating everything to Kairi only instead of everyone else who was in the room. But none of the others truly cared that the two teenagers were too engrossed in each other to pay all that much attention to the others in the room. Seymour grumbled slightly that he was getting too close to his little girl, but Janet easily shushed him by reminding him that he wasn't much different with each of his girlfriends when they were younger before they had gotten together.

The time reached four-thirty in the afternoon before everyone had left Sora's house, Sora showing a little bit of nerve in front of Seymour by giving Kairi a goodbye kiss on the cheek, to which both of them blushed and Kairi giggled at while their mothers cooed behind their backs. King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and Jiminy left too, as the King had called the previous night for a gummi ship to come and pick them up.

And it was as Riku had been leaving, taking a last look at Sora and Kairi, and to a lesser extent Roxas and Naminé, together, that he began to wonder if he'd ever be able to find a girl to love.

-A-D-

_(Looks at checklist) Re-write chapter two… check!_

_Leave a review if you wish and are still able to._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	3. Being Grounded

_And here we go, the third chapter of __**The Beginning**__, re-written and re-mastered._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, yada, yada, yada... and I also do not own any songs that I use._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter III: Being Grounded

_I'm bored._

Sora groaned loudly as he sat on his bed. He had only been grounded for two days since they had explained everything to his mother and Riku's and Kairi's parents, and already Roxas was getting on his nerves with how much boredom was plaguing both of them. He'd done all he could to clean his room the previous day, and finished it off by playing video games.

But there were only so many hours a teenage boy could play a game he wasn't really interested in before it drove him crazy, especially when there was a voice inside of his head trying to tell him how he should be playing the game.

_If you're so bored, why don't you come out and actually talk to me?_ Sora asked.

_Alright I will._

Within seconds Roxas had faded in right in front of Sora's bed. Turning around, the blonde spotted the chair against Sora's desk and sat in it.

"So we're both bored," Roxas stated, "what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know," Sora replied, "what do you want to talk about?"

They looked at each other for a second before simultaneously sighing and hanging their heads. "Well this is pointless," Roxas said.

"I just got an idea," answered Sora.

"And it is a very good idea," Roxas said, perking up a bit. He knew Sora's thoughts, so it was a lot easier to get started on a conversation.

"Well then, tell me about yourself Roxas," Sora said, leaning back against the wall of his room. "After all, we may be the same person, technically, but we still don't really know anything about each other."

"Your thoughts exactly," said Roxas, smirking. He leaned back in the swivel chair. "Well what can I tell you? My name is Roxas, derived from yours and adding in an 'x'. I'm fifteen, blonde, and your Nobody. What's our birthday? October 24th? So I'll be sixteen then. I have all of your memories and can look at them whenever I choose, but I'm just as good at remembering them as you are. Uh... I really like ramen, and I like jazz, country, and a bit of metal. That's kinda it. Oh! And I can wield a Keyblade and I was Number XIII in Organization XIII and called 'The Key of Destiny'. And thinking of that reminds me that I like staring into a brightly burning fire for hours."

"Something you got from Axel I take it," Sora said. Roxas grinned and leaned back, folding his arms behind his head in a Sora-like gesture.

"So, what about you Sora?" he asked. "Tell me about yourself."

"Alrighty," Sora answered. "I'm Sora. I'm fifteen, a brunette, and your Somebody. I was born October 24th 1987. My favourite foods are ramen and a nicely grilled salmon, or crab legs dipped in hot garlic butter. I listen to practically ever genre of music apart from the really heavy morbid metal stuff, but my favourite music has to be classic eighties and seventies rock. I'm the Chosen Master of the Keyblade and have saved the worlds from darkness twice. I like camping out with my friends under the stars, and uh..." Sora looked around his room to find something else to say, and his eyes landed on the acoustic guitar that was sitting in a corner, "and I have a guitar that I like to strum on. Riku, Tidus, Wakka, and I had a band at one point, but really it was just us getting together with a bunch of different instruments to play songs that we liked because it was fun."

"You can play guitar?" Roxas asked as Sora returned with the guitar. "Play something."

Sora raised an eyebrow as his pick strummed over the chords and he looked at his Nobody. "What?"

"Play a song," Roxas said. "I mean, you said you could play, so why not-"

"I mean 'what' in a sense of taking requests Roxas," Sora chuckled, interrupting him.

"Oh," Roxas said, taken aback slightly. "Something, anything. Anything that comes to mind. There's been too much of those classic rock love songs on the radio."

"But _Invisible Touch_ by Genesis is a great song," Sora said. Roxas shook his head.

"I'm not denying that it's good," he said. "It's just that there are too many songs that are making me think about Naminé."

"What's wrong with that?" Sora asked, strumming his guitar a little more as he tried to get a feel for a song.

"I can't see Naminé," Roxas moaned. Sora looked down for a second.

"Sorry about not keeping our promise man," Sora apologized in a sigh. "But if it's any consolation I can't see Kairi either until the end of the week."

"Don't worry about it," Roxas said, waving it off. "Not your fault Mom grounded both of us."

"Can't you talk to Naminé though?" Sora asked, looking up at his Nobody. Roxas looked quizzically at him and Sora continued. "Well think about it. You and Naminé reside within Kairi's and my hearts and our hearts are connected. If you wanted, you probably could talk to her even now."

"That's actually a good idea Sora," Roxas said, nodding. "But I think I'll try it after listening to you play the guitar, just so I know that you actually can."

Sora chuckled a little to himself. "I knew you'd pull something like that. I'm not used to having myself as an audience."

"Quit stalling and play something already," Roxas moaned, passing his transparent hand through a pencil and pretending to chuck it at him.

Sora laughed and started strumming on his guitar. Roxas perked up as soon as he recognized the tune and Sora smirked at him. "Should I sing the song too?"

"If you can, go ahead," Roxas answered him. Sora opened his mouth, and from his lips a rather nice tenor singing voice echoed out.

"_When you're in love, there's no time and no space,  
There's a permanent smile on your face.  
Your friends all complain that you're going insane,  
But the truth is they're just afraid._

_Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares.  
Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares."_

Roxas smiled and sighed as he watched and listened to his Somebody. He didn't know before that Sora could sing, but he figured that he had to be able to in order to go through all that singing in Atlantica without being booed off the stage. Playing the guitar was what really surprised him though. _It's funny_, Roxas decided. _I asked him to play anything that came to mind, said that there were too many love songs on the radio, and he goes ahead and starts singing a love song._ _And the _really_ funny thing is: I probably would be doing the exact same thing._

"_When you decide that what counts is inside,  
Your friends all say it's a lie.  
But there's no brighter light than the look in her eyes,  
When you're walking her home through the night._

_Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares.  
Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares._

_Let yourself go with the tide.  
There's an angel by your side  
Tonight._

_Back at the bar, getting cynically stoned,  
Your friends are drinking alone.  
But it's funny, 'cause they don't even cross your mind,  
When she asks you into her home._

_Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares.  
Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares._

_Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares.  
Hey somewhere,  
you threw your fear in the Sea of No Cares."_

Sora stopped strumming his guitar and allowed the music to fade away. He looked up at Roxas and shrugged after a second before sighing and putting his guitar down. Sora groaned and placed his head in his hands.

"We are so whipped aren't we Roxas?" he asked.

Roxas sighed. "Yeah we are."

"And it's all because we're in love," Sora added, showing his face again.

"Hey, you're the guy who just admitted that he was in love, not me," Roxas retorted. He paused for a second and his face softened slightly. "We're both saps. I'm in love with Naminé and you're in love with Kairi."

"Just so that we know that you aren't in love with Naminé because I am your Somebody and I am in love with Kairi," Sora mumbled, collapsing onto his bed and staring at the ceiling, "what do you like about her?"

Roxas blushed. "Like I'd ever tell you."

"I am you," Sora pointed out, "who else would you tell? Her?"

"No freaking way would I ever tell Naminé!" Roxas said quickly. "That's a scary thought man, don't even go there."

"Then what do you like about her?" Sora asked, leaning back onto his elbows and resting the back of his head on the cream-coloured wall. "There must be some reason she caught your eye."

Roxas looked down and scratched the back of his golden head. "Well... ah, when I first saw Naminé, it was out of the corner of my eye in my room in the Virtual Twilight Town."

"So you're in love with a stalker girl," Sora chuckled.

"Har har, shut up. Wait, Axel talked about her a few times while she was in Castle Oblivion and she hung around at our base for a while after that, probably something to with DiZ's orders, but was never brought into the Organization. She used to play pranks with Axel and me, and I went to Castle Oblivion once before you showed up there, and the three of us... I'll tell you later but it's good. After I saw her in my room in the Virtual Twilight Town though, I couldn't remember her, and it appeared as if she couldn't remember me, but she knew my name. What got me then was her eyes."

Sora sighed and his mind blew away into a fuzzy swirl with Kairi's form in the centre of it, her eyes prominent. "Same here. It's always the eyes and face isn't it?"

"And then there's her beautiful and soft hair, the way she smiles at me, her voice, argh, I can't think of anything better than being near her, no matter what it is that we're doing!" Roxas exclaimed, looking at Sora.

The brunette master of the Keyblade finally looked up. "Are you sure that having feelings and emotions now isn't a little much Roxas?"

Roxas leaned back and scratched the back of his head, sighing. "Well, it sure is different, to have a heart, or share a heart at least. What I take to be happiness makes me feel, well... weird. And then there are the butterflies that show up every once in a while."

"Butterflies attack when you're nervous," Sora answered. "I'm guessing that they've shown up when you're around Naminé."

"Some of the time," Roxas admitted, looking down. "But, the first time I noticed them was actually just before I started talking to you in your head."

Sora cocked his head to one side quizzically. "Really? Why's that?"

Roxas was silent for a couple of seconds. "Well..." he began, looking off to the side and out the window. Sora watched him closely as his attention appeared to wander to the houses across the street in the early afternoon light. Roxas' mind appeared to be off somewhere else, and when Sora tried to get a feeling for his thoughts, all he came up with was a distinct jumble of distant memories of his own.

"Do you remember when you were first starting school Sora?" Roxas asked finally, looking at his Somebody. Sora was taken aback slightly by the question.

"A little bit, yeah," he answered.

"Do you remember the nervous thoughts you had back then?" asked Roxas, leaning a bit closer. "You know, the ones of, 'will I meet anyone I know?', or 'will they like me?' Those kind of thoughts?"

"Every year at school I wonder the same thing about the new people I'll have in my classes," Sora answered, "but at least I always know that there will be people there in that building that I do know and that do like me."

"It wasn't quite the same with me after I merged with you," Roxas answered. "I knew of you, and I knew you and what you were like, having been in the back of your head for your second journey. But I had never come forward. I was always afraid of whether you, my other, would actually like and accept me for what I am."

Sora shook his head. "How could you even think that Roxas?" he asked, a trace of hurt in his voice.

The blonde looked away. "I resented you Sora. I resented and was jealous of you. DiZ and Riku had both come and taken me away from the Organization, even though I left them of my own free will, and they forced me into you for DiZ to get revenge on his former apprentices, and for Riku to get his best friend back. I was never given the choice of whether I wanted to merge with you or not Sora. And then, even with cause, you started killing off members of the Organization, and Axel sacrificed himself to save you. You had friends all across the worlds, and my only friends were fake people made of data and Axel and Naminé. You were so lucky, and I wasn't lucky at all. How could we both be the same person, and why was it that _I _was the one who had to give up everything? That's why I finally gained the courage to try and fight you from where I was in our heart. But you beat me."

"You had me near the end Roxas," Sora pointed out, looking away from his Nobody.

"You still won," Roxas retorted. "After that, and the little scene Naminé and I pulled on the Altar of Naught, I supposed that it was only a matter of time before I'd have to actually meet you. But I was still afraid that you would reject me."

Sora kept his eyes averted from his Nobody, allowing his eyelids to close halfway. He'd never really thought about it from Roxas' point of view before.

Suddenly, Sora started to chuckle. He finally looked up at Roxas (and at the blonde's indignant face), and his chuckling only became more pronounced. "What's so funny?" Roxas asked agitatedly.

"Roxas," Sora explained, "I'm friends with a pirate. How could you ever think that I wouldn't want to be friends with my own Nobody?"

Roxas was silent for a second, and then a few chuckles of his own escaped his lips. "Well, when you put it that way... Avast me hearty! You are about to meet your maker in Aerial Destroyer IV!"

"Never yah slimy toad!" Sora challenged, jumping on Roxas and rubbing his hair with his knuckles, collapsing his desk chair onto the ground in the process.

-A-D-

It was night at Disney Castle, and King Mickey was at his desk in the library, literal mountains of paperwork sitting atop it. Queen Minnie and Daisy had done what they could while he was away, but being the King of a world and taking a long extended absence from ruling before coming back fresh from a battle to save the universe was a heck of a job. Compared to the amount of paperwork that was awaiting his signature, Mickey would rather be out adventuring once more.

With a long sigh King Mickey put up his quill and rubbed his eyes with his white-gloved hands. He was tired. His long day this first Tuesday back had comprised of nothing but constant reading and signing of reports that his advisory council had prepared (as well as meeting with the council for several hours), but had not yet been looked at by Queen Minnie. She had diligently gone about the task of running the Kingdom during his extended absence, but there was a lot that built up very recently. A severe thunderstorm had swept south across the land about fifty kilometres to the east, and caused a good deal of damage to both farming land and the towns caught in it.

His eyes and ears didn't catch the sound of someone entering the library until he felt a hand touch his shoulder comfortingly and smiled slightly at his wife's voice. "Mickey," Minnie said anxiously, "you've been working all day. Couldn't you take a short break?"

"I don't know Minnie," King Mickey answered. "There's a lot here."

"You could always save it for tomorrow," Minnie said, her other hand landing lightly on his other shoulder, both of them now moving in soothing circles.

Mickey looked at his paperwork and felt his already poor resolve to finish it wavering at the enticing sound of his Queen's voice. "Please Mickey," she whispered. "Walk in the gardens with me. The moon is out again."

"But there's barely any moon tonight," Mickey answered, smiling despite himself as he turned around to look at Minnie. She wasn't in the regal pink dress she normally wore when performing her official duties as Queen, instead she was in a lovely strapped blue dress and heels, a pink bow in her hair. Her smile made her look just as beautiful as when he'd first met her all those years ago.

"The moon is out," Minnie repeated, kissing her husband fleetingly on the cheek. "And we can take Pluto with us."

The mere mention of his faithful dog was enough to break Mickey. The King chuckled slightly. "Well okay..." he said in a sing-song voice as he rose from his chair, smiling. "But if the council's upset tomorrow—"

"Then they're just going to have to deal with it," Minnie said sternly, folding her hands in front of her chest. "I want my husband to myself tonight. If they object, we can tell them to go and get married and see how their spouse feels with them working themselves to the bone every night."

Mickey laughed at the spunk that still lay within Queen Minnie and nuzzled her nose lovingly with his. Queen Minnie's face softened again before she became wrapped in the King's arms for a few seconds.

"Come on Pluto," Mickey said, turning to his dog as his loyal companion lay in his basket, "we're going for a walk." Pluto's head snapped up excitedly and he yipped happily, bounding out of his basket and running in circles around the King and Queen. Mickey and Minnie laughed at Pluto's antics and they left the library hand in hand, as unashamed of the act as when they were younger.

Indeed the slim crescent of the newly waxing was out, and shining its silvery light down upon the worlds next to the many stars that twinkled in the night sky. King Mickey inhaled the calming cool night air in a slow breath as he and his wife slowly ambled down the promenade together, passing between the shadows cast by the columns.

Pluto yipped excitedly as they made their way into the garden and began to run around. Mickey and Minnie both laughed slightly and watched him before they decided to sit on the grass against the hedge trimming of a castle in the garden's centre.

Mickey smiled as Minnie's head came to rest soothingly against his shoulder, both of her arms wrapped around his left arm. He liked moments like this between himself and his wife. They didn't come often, especially with him being gone over the past year, but when they came they only served to reinforce the faith and trust both of them had in their love and marriage together.

King Mickey sighed happily and kissed his wife on the cheek as Pluto padded his way towards them. He curled up and front of them and Mickey and Minnie both took turns scratching their dog behind the ears and under the chin. Mickey looked up into the sky and gazed at the stars that were shining down on them. The night sky looked just as beautiful here as it did on Destiny Islands, but it was even better to Mickey now, because he was here enjoying it with his loyal dog and his faithful, loving, pretty wife.

A star began to glow brightly and Mickey frowned as he looked at it. The star burned with intense lightly, growing bigger and bigger, until suddenly, it simply vanished in upon itself.

King Mickey nearly stood up, but looked instead at Queen Minnie, who was already looking at him with questioning, frightened eyes. She had seen the star vanish as well.

-A-D-

Sora yawned and stretched his arms behind his head. It had been a very tiring week of doing nothing, but now he was freed, and able to go wherever on the island he wished and do whatever he wanted with both Riku and Kairi.

Currently, he had just awoken from a nap on the sands of the play island between Felra and Dunash, and he was looking up into the reddish sunny sky. Kairi was kneeling in the sand a few metres in front of him, perfecting the childish pastime of building sandcastles. Her current work was much better than Sora had seen anyone make before. The walls were sculpted perfectly, arrow slits and windows shaped magnificently, and its centre bailey towered over the outer walls. At the extent of the moment, Kairi was busy digging a moat around it with her hands and kept glancing at the front of the castle, as if wondering whether or not she'd be able to figure out how to make a big enough drawbridge.

Sora pushed himself up onto his bum and watched her with a smile on his face. His heart glowed with warmth while he watched her in the twilight light of dusk. The red light just struck her auburn hair at the right angle to make it shine vibrantly against the sun, and the pink and white dress she still wore was complimented by the look.

A blush grew onto Sora's cheeks as he realized what he was thinking about and he rubbed his nose. He got onto his feet and walked away, throwing Kairi a smile when she looked his way in concern. She smiled back and his heart quivered with delight for a brief instant. Sora had been inside of the Secret Place, and had seen that after he had drawn a picture of himself offering a paopu fruit to Kairi, she had added one of her offering one to him. He knew now, without a doubt, that he was in love with her, and from the way they had talked back at his house the other day and the drawing he had seen he was positive that she loved him back.

Sora stopped and shook the blush off of his cheeks when he reached the door to the seaside shack on the play island. He looked up and frowned. The shack he remembered had been... well... bigger. He reached his hand up and found to his surprise that he was able to grab the wooden planks that formed the roof of the shack.

Smiling, Sora hoisted himself onto the shack's roof and walked across it onto the little ridge of the island, which was joined to the little islet by a wooden catwalk. Riku was sitting on the bent trunk of the paopu tree, staring off into the sunset. Sora smiled and jogged over to where he was sitting, jumping to the other side of the trunk and leaning against it with his hands behind his head.

"Nothing's changed huh?" Riku said, staring off into the same sunset that he'd seen countless times before.

"Nope," Sora replied. "Nothing will."

Riku chuckled slightly, "What a small world."

"Yeah," said Sora, knowing what Riku was thinking about, "but part of one that's much bigger." He frowned slightly as he looked at the setting sun, and realized just how lucky the two of them were to be back here. "Hey Riku, what do you think it was? The Door to the Light?"

Riku chuckled and got off of the paopu tree's trunk to stand in front of Sora. He pointed right at Sora's heart. "This."

Sora looked down in confusion. "This?"

"Yeah," Riku answered. "It's always closer than you think."

Sora smiled. Yes, Riku was right.

"Sora! Riku!"

Sora looked away at the sound of Kairi's voice and saw her waving and coming towards them quickly. He wondered why she had abandoned her sandcastle, it couldn't have been completed yet. Before he could ask, she had reached both of them, panting as if she had run a distance.

Sora held out his hands in front of her in case she needed support. "Hey what's up?"

Kairi looked up and held something out in front of her. "Look."

Sora's eyes widened. In her small hands she held a glass bottle. But inside the corked bottle was a piece of parchment, rolled tightly, and clearly displayed on the centre of the parchment were three small black circles in the shape of a mouse's head. The Royal Seal of King Mickey!

"From the King?" he asked, taking the bottle and fishing the message out. Sora unrolled the parchment in front of him and read the letter quickly, Riku and Kairi leaning in to read over his shoulders.

_Dear, Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_I am afraid that I have some bad news. During this last week, I've discovered something that we overlooked after Xemnas' defeat. I'm not sure; hopefully it won't be too much of a problem, but you never know when the Heartless are concerned. I'm sending two volunteers to Destiny Islands to help you guys out in case Heartless show up. Remember, I have sent them to represent me, so treat them as you would treat me and do what they tell you. You should become acquainted with them sometime tomorrow._

_Hoping all is well,_

_King Mickey_

"So..." Kairi said, looking tentatively at Sora and Riku as Sora folded the letter up, "more Heartless trouble?"

"Looks like it," Sora sighed, "but it doesn't sound like King Mickey needs us right now."

Riku shook his head. "Something big is going on."

"Huh?" Kairi asked, looking at him.

"Look, Mickey is worried enough about us to be sending two people here to protect us and the islands in case Heartless show up, and Sora and I are both Keyblade Masters," Riku answered. "Isn't that enough to know that this is something serious enough for Mickey to be worried about?"

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Sora asked.

"We get ready to go back to a world of torture tomorrow," Riku answered in what was quickly becoming a groan. Sora and Kairi added their own affections towards the subject.

Despite the sudden prospect of another upcoming adventure, no matter how disheartening and exciting it was, the reminder that school loomed over their heads for tomorrow was even gloomier.

-A-D-

_A rewritten third chapter, definitely different from last time, this time showcasing King Mickey in Disney Castle even though it doesn't tell us how he spent the week from Tuesday night seeing the star vanish, to Sunday evening when the message in a bottle arrives._

_As always,_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	4. Back to School

_Here it is: the redone version of the fourth chapter of __**The Beginning**__. I hope you enjoy it._

_And Alexandre Bilodeau has made Canadian History with our first Olympic Gold on home snow! Great job Alex!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square-Enix, or anything else that is portrayed in this fanfic apart from my own original characters and story-wide plot. I also credit __**Krystal Lily Potter**__ for an insult I use._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter IIII: Back to School

Sora woke suddenly in the early morning. He looked out of his window, but all he could see were the dark and shadowed shapes of the houses around his own on the street and the dark and looming figure of the play island rising up over the waves of the ocean, visible only through the light of the stars and moon.

Sora yawned and glanced over at his clock to read the digital red numbers.

_5:33!!!_

Sora groaned and dropped his head back onto his pillow. "Why the heck am I awake this early?" he groaned, placing his hand over his head and sliding it down his face. He drew his light sheets further up on his body and snuggled his way back into a groove in his mattress.

It was no use. A half an hour later Sora was still as awake as he had been when he had first woken up. The only difference now was that he could see the faint red light from the sun in the east reaching the top of the play island outside of his north-western facing window.

Grumbling, Sora threw the sheets off of him and stood up. He stretched and was glad that he had left the house once while he was grounded, even if it had been under the heavy escort of his mother to pick up his school uniform, timetable, get his locker number, lock and combination, and buy new clothes since everything but the outfit that Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had made for him no longer fit his frame. He hadn't been as surprised as to how much he'd grown while he was asleep and adventuring since waking up from his year of sleep.

But Riku was _still_ taller. Damn him.

Due to the embarrassing clothes shopping extravaganza he was now in a set of sleepwear that suited him and the heat of Destiny Islands just fine: a thin dark blue t-shirt and a pair of black flannel boxers. His trademark silver crown pendant hung over the dark blue shirt, contrasting it and making it an eye-catching piece to his look. Sora yawned after his stretch and looked towards his window again before opening it. The breeze, sweetly cool but still with a touch of warmth retained by the ocean, flitted in and caressed his face.

Sora sighed and smiled. He'd truly missed this. And now he was back, and able to enjoy the calming feeling of the air currents that carried the salty smell and feel of the ocean to him. Seized by a sudden desire, Sora leapt over to his dresser and grabbed a pair of white shorts with two yellow and orange waved stripes down the sides of the legs, a couple of blooming flowers in the colours of brown and blue over the stripes. He shoved them on before jumping towards his windowsill. Sora stood up and grasped the shingles of the roof with his naked fingers and hoisted himself up.

He still couldn't see the dawning of the sun, as it was rising beyond a large hill, at the base of which on the other side was the high school he would be going to later.

At the thought of it, Sora felt a slight surge of excitement race through him, and he knew instantly why he had woken so early. As much as he tried to tell himself that school sucked and that he hated going back to school, he could never smother the elation of going back. It was the regularity in his life that he hadn't fully appreciated until he'd lost it last year, and the excitement of going into a new school for a new year of learning, no matter how short-lived it might prove to be, was impossible to deny.

The sun's light was now beginning to rise over the hill, but the sight was still far away.

_I wonder if Kairi's watching this._

He stood up before realizing suddenly as the shingles scraped against his feet that he was barefoot. Blushing to himself, Sora ducked back into the house and shoved on a pair of socks before, quietly, sneaking down to the front door to grab his sneakers and, quietly, sneaking back up to his room to leave via bedroom window.

He smiled as the morning air whirled through his spikes, the Keyblade Master running along the sidewalk of the streets to reach Kairi's house. He knew the way by heart, and was able to easily manage the turns in the semi-darkness caused by the twilight of dawn on the opposite side of the hill. There were only a few other people out, jogging in the cool of the morning before the sun properly rose, and they paid Sora as much attention as he paid them.

Roxas yawned loudly in his mind for a second as the Nobody woke up himself. _Oh, good morning Sora,_ he said tiredly, still half-asleep. _Wait, why aren't we in bed? Whasgoinon?_

_I woke up early, so I decided to see the sunrise,_ Sora answered simply.

_Uh-huh,_ Roxas replied, slowly getting more awake and aware at the strangeness of the situation he had woken up in. He yawned as he spoke again. _So why are we running through the street?_

_I want to see if Kairi wants to watch it with me._

Roxas was still yawning. _You're going to wake her and Naminé up at whatever time it is, the day school starts, to watch a sunrise together? Are you daft? She'll kick you out of the house before you can say 'Keyblade'._

He shrugged back. _It's tradition Roxas. Riku, Kairi, and I always watch the sun rise the day that school starts. It's been that way since second grade._

_Bah,_ Roxas returned. _Just a waste of sleep._

Sora shrugged as he rounded the bend and began to go up the hill that Kairi's house was on. It was just near the base of the hill, on its south-western side. It was a rather curious hill. It was only about two kilometres out from the western shores of the ocean, but its large and domed brown face ran in nearly a straight north-south line from the north shore to the south shore. In all, the hill had three peaks, the middle one some sixty feet higher than the others, with the southern one the lowest. Kairi's house was just near the base of that third peak, with its back end cutting into the north side of it as the road it was on ran on to the east and up to that third peak.

The sun's light was a little bit more pronounced here than it was by his house, which was further to the north and west and blocked by the shadow of the other two peaks of the hill. Sora smiled as a little bit of warmer air from the other side of the hill swept down on him and he increased his pace. Kairi's was the fourth house up the street from the corner, and even from the distance he was at he could already see someone, or actually, two people, sitting on the roof.

"Kairi!" he called, recognizing her and the transparent one next to her as he got closer. "Naminé!"

Both girls turned around to see him running towards their house, but he was confused when Kairi suddenly yelled back at him, "Don't come up here Sora!"

He slowed down before stopping in front of the walk towards Kairi's porch, looking up at her and Naminé as they sat upon the roof, having been looking out to the east before he showed up. "Why not Kai?"

"Because we're not dressed yet Sora!" Naminé hollered.

Sora raised an eyebrow. Kairi was in a low-cut pink tank-top and a pair of blue pyjama pants with yellow chocobos on them, while Naminé was wearing a thin strapped light-yellow nightgown that resembled her white sundress, only it ended a little bit further down her thighs so that it was mid-way to her knees.

"Um, I'm not really dressed either," he said, folding his arms after indicating what he was wearing.

Even from standing on the ground while the girls were on the roof he could see Kairi rolling her eyes. "But you're a _guy_ Sora! You can at least run around town wearing something like that and no one would bat an eyelash. Naminé and I can't go out like this. Nice new shorts by the way."

"Really?" Sora asked, looking down at them. "I don't know. I'm not too partial about the brown colour in some of the flowers, even though it works with the orange. I should've gotten the blue and white ones—wait, wait what am I talking about?!" he asked himself, drawing a giggle out of Kairi's lips at his momentary lapse of purpose. "You wouldn't be going anywhere anyway, unless we decide to go to Riku's to watch the sunrise, since, you know, he lives on like, the very top of the hill."

Kairi shifted slightly on the roof and looked down at him, a finger curling in her hair. A tiny smile made its way onto her face. "You wanted to watch the sunrise with me?"

Sora rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, his eyes moving just slightly off of Kairi's face. "Um, I don't think I'd really have any other reason for being out at... 6:20 wearing half of my pyjamas. So, can I come up?"

Naminé disappeared inside of Kairi in a golden light and Kairi smiled a little bit wider. "Just let me get changed."

Sora clicked his tongue and raised his eyebrows exasperatedly, looking up at her as he folded his arms. "Kairi... you're being stubborn."

She grimaced and stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine," said Kairi with a sharp tongue. "But if my dad finds out about this, we're both toast."

Sora smiled and jumped onto Kairi's roof in one bound, landing next to her. "I'll take all the blame," he said, seeing her surprised look at the height of his jump with amusement. The section of the roof he'd leapt up onto was at the very least fourteen feet off the ground.

"Then you're burnt toast," Kairi said, sitting up again and looking up towards the peak of the hill. Sora sat down next to the girl on Kairi's right, and his heart raced as his hand slowly inched outwards to take hers. Kairi looked at his hand before her indigo eyes went up to his face. Despite all of the clues and reasoning that told Sora that she loved him back as plainly as she'd said the previous week, he was still nervous when he made any bold (at least for him) step towards trying to advance their relationship to something that was more than just friends.

The butterflies in his otherwise empty stomach ceased their fluttering as Kairi smiled and squeezed his hand slightly. Euphoria filled Sora's heart suddenly and he sighed contentedly as he turned his eyes to the light that was slowly coming from the east. If they were on the top of this peak of the hill, they'd probably already have seen the sun rise up over the grey mountains and hills in the east.

"What was this about toast?"

Sora and Kairi looked over to their left and smiled as Riku dropped in onto the roof, his silver hair a stark contrast to the dark purple shirt he was wearing with a pair of blue jeans and his shoes.

"Hey Riku," they said simultaneously as the older youth walked towards them.

"Hey guys," he said, sitting down on Kairi's left and slightly in front of her. He compensated for that by putting his hands behind him and leaning back.

"You know," Kairi began, smiling despite herself, "my parents are going to wake up if they keep hearing all of this movement on the roof."

"What are you doing here anyway Riku?" Sora asked, cocking his head to the side.

Riku looked over at him, smirking underneath his long bangs. "What? I can't watch a sunrise with my two best friends anymore like we always do the day before school starts?"

Sora scratched the back of his head. "No, it's just that normally we're on your roof since you've got the best view."

"If you were at my place now you'd have already missed it," answered Riku, chuckling. "You got up a bit late this year Sora. Besides," he added, seeing Sora's indignant face, "I figured that you both would be too busy sucking face to come and visit me."

Sora's and Kairi's faces each turned a delicate shade of red and they spat out "Riku!" with barely any delay between them. He laughed at them both before back to the east.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said humourously. "You aren't dating yet, and you haven't actually gone and said it to each other, but it's too freaking obvious for me to not already be the third wheel."

"Aw," Sora said, looking at his friend with a tilted head. "Riku's feeling left out Kairi."

Her hand left Sora's and she wrapped both her arms around her silver-haired friend as he sat next to her. "Does Riku need a little love?" she asked, smiling up at him with her head above his waist and blinking slowly. Sora stood as they both laughed and he came over to Riku's other side, throwing an arm around him as he sat down.

Riku restrained a further chuckle. "Who needs clowns when I've got you two around?"

"Sure Riku," Sora said airily, "we love you too."

"You know," said Riku, looking over to his best friend with a sly smirk, "I bet that I'm probably the first person you've said that to. _Hint, hint! Cough, cough!_"

"Shut up," Sora said, shoving him slightly.

"Sora!" Kairi moaned, losing her grip on Riku and nearly going completely the other way.

"Sorry Kai!"

Kairi stuck her tongue out at him before giggling slightly. "Fine. I accept your apology, but you'll have to make it up to me later."

"Sure," Sora said. "How?"

"Get me that—"

"Hey," said Riku, pointing and ending Kairi's wish list before she could even begin, "look." Sora looked up and he saw exactly what Riku was seeing. The Sun was raising her fiery head over the crest of the hill, shining down on them with her golden-red light. The light was nearly blinding, but the three friends stared into the light of the dawn whole-heartedly, their hearts filled with serene peace as a new day began. Sora sighed along with Riku and Kairi and Riku spoke up again. "It never gets old huh?"

"Nope," Sora said wistfully.

Kairi tilted her head to the side. "It kinda makes you wanna—"

"Break into song?" Sora asked.

"Yep," Kairi said.

Riku looked between them for a quick second. "I swear, if you two start singing, I'm leaving."

"Aw, don't leave Riku," Kairi said, clutching his arm playfully. "The sun is rising. It's tradition for us to watch it together before school, you know that."

"I know," he said. "But you both know as well as I do that I don't want to sing."

"Then don't sing," Sora said.

_You know,_ Roxas said. _If you were going to start singing, you really should have brought that guitar with you._

"Shut up Roxas," Sora said, jerking his head upwards.

"What'd chocobo-head say?" asked Riku.

"Oh, he said I should've brought my guit—"

Sora stopped and all three of them instantly swivelled their heads to the back of the house's roof as they heard a sound come from the balcony that led into Kairi's second-story room. "It's the same every year, Kairi where'd you go this time!?"

"Oh crap!" Kairi said suddenly in a whisper. "That's my dad!"

"Shush!" Riku snapped.

They were too loud though, and Seymour appeared to have heard them. "Kairi? Are you on the roof? Who's up there with you?"

The three friends shared immensely frightened looks with each other. Sora's cerulean eyes found Kairi's indigo ones and their fear quickly accelerated. Sora felt like his heart would burst right out of his chest as it pounded at close to three times its normal cadence out of fear. What was going to happen if Seymour saw them together like this?

"We are so effing screwed aren't we?" he whispered.

Kairi seemed to crumble for a second as they heard another sound on the balcony. "No, we—we have an excuse, we were all watching the sunrise together right? That's the truth and that's what we tell him."

"Yeah," Riku said, "but how's that going to help us when your dad sees that you're wearing a shirt that's a little too low-cut to be in the presence of your guy friends." Kairi looked down quickly and blushed, covering the bit of exposed flesh with her arms.

"Shit, we are screwed!" she whispered.

"Whatarewegonnado?" Sora asked hysterically. "Whatarewegonnado? Whatarewegonnado? Idon'tknowwhattodo!"

Naminé appeared next to Kairi and kneeled down in front of Sora, placing her transparent hands on his shoulders. "Calm down Sora! You've been through more stressful situations than this. Like, like... all of Castle Oblivion for instance!"

"I fight Heartless and Nobodies!" Sora fired back. "Not the fathers of pretty teenage girls I would want to ask out on dates if I ever get the courage to do so!"

Kairi looked at him and blushed. "You—you really _do_ want to ask me out?"

Sora sat there, flabbergasted that he had just said that. "Well—I—I mean uh—well—um..."

Riku flapped his hands over both of their heads. "Smack, smack. It's touching, but now is not the time for this!"

Their heads all turned around again as Seymour's voice drifted to them from Kairi's balcony. "I'm coming up there."

Roxas faded in next to Naminé and hugged her suddenly in fright. She took his arms graciously and hugged him back, but both of their eyes were on the spot where Seymour's voice had come from.

"We are _so_ dead," he said, dressed in a silver shirt and a pair of beige pants with white socks. "Well, you guys are. Naminé and I aren't."

"Shut up Roxas," Kairi said, smacking his transparent head with her palm. She wasn't surprised that it connected. Only she and Sora could actually interact 'physically' with their Nobodies. To everyone and everything else, they might as well have been ghosts.

"I've got a plan!" Riku said suddenly.

They're heads all turned around to him, seeing that his aqua eyes were gleaming triumphantly. "Really?" Sora asked. "Great!"

"What's the plan?" Kairi asked.

"Run for it."

"That's not a plan you idiot!" Naminé chastised him. "That's an escape plan!"

"Hence the word, 'plan' Naminé. Do I have to teach you all everything?"

"What?" Sora asked. "You mean we're just going to leave Kai here to answer all of her dad's awkward questions by herself?"

"You're welcome to stay if you want," Riku said, starting to stand. "But be warned that _you'll_ be the one who gets completely chewed out by Seymour when you're caught!"

Kairi brought her hand up and grabbed Riku by his arm and yanking him back down. "You're not going anywhere Riku! If dad catches me and Sora up here alone together he's going to start thinking the wrong things. Then he'll probably kill Sora, move me to a new school all the way over on Straca, have me grounded for life and force a chastity belt on me!"

"Where'd the chastity belt come from?" Sora asked her, glancing down before back up to her face.

"I'm not thinking straight right now, Sora," she explained. "I'm hysterical!"

There was a loud _thump_ as if a chair had just been placed onto Kairi's balcony.

"We're dead," Roxas whimpered. "Goodbye cruel world. I only wish that I could have had Sea-Salt Ice Cream one last time."

"I'm running," said Riku, rising again and trying to run away.

Sora and Kairi both leapt towards him and grabbed his ankles. "You're staying!" Kairi winced at the feel of the shingles. "Ow, that kinda hurt my—"

Seymour's hands appeared on the roof.

"But we're going!" Naminé nearly shrieked. She and Roxas suddenly turned into golden and blue lights before zipping back into Sora and Kairi.

"Get back out here you coward," Sora grumbled as Riku kept trying to shake his hands off of the older boy's left foot.

"Alright Kairi, who's up here with you?" her father asked, his head finally poking up to see them. The trio stared at him with embarrassed smiles on their faces as their eyes widened to the size of golf balls, the rest of their bodies freezing up.

A knit formed between Seymour's eyebrows. "Alright, what's going on up here?"

"Uh, well we were watching the sunrise," Kairi explained nervously, taking a hand off of Riku's sneakered foot and gesturing towards the brightly glowing orb, now fully revealed and completely shining its light down upon them. "You know, like we do every year before the first day of school."

"Oh so that's what you do every year," he said, completely oblivious to their tradition. "Sounds like fun. Maybe I'll join you next year." He was about to lower his head down before he looked back up. "Oh, and boys, you'd better not have been looking at or touching my daughter the wrong way."

Seymour's head dropped down and they could hear the scraping sound of the chair being moved as all three of their faces turned as red as cherries, their wide eyes still staring at the space where Kairi's father's head had appeared and disappeared.

"Well this sucks," Sora said, still holding onto Riku. He glanced up at Riku and slightly towards Kairi on his right so that he could see both of them in his peripheral vision. "We're not in trouble, but he just killed our tradition."

"Yeah," Kairi grumbled. "Thanks a lot dad." She looked towards both of her friends. "I'll see you guys here at eight, okay? That way we can all walk to school together."

"But I already live closest to school," Riku moaned. "It's right down the hill from my place."

"Oh no Riku," Kairi said, wagging her free finger at him. "We're not having this argument again. You've always lived closest to the school, for when we were in elementary, and Junior High, and now High School. But this is one tradition that my father can't break. You're showing up here at eight, same as Sora is."

"Yeah, I know," Sora said, letting go of Riku and getting up, Kairi following his example a second later. He looked at his watch. "Crap, I'm gonna miss breakfast! Gotta run."

"You might want to cut breakfast short and take a shower Sora," Kairi said, poking him in the chest. He was surprised to feel his t-shirt stick to his chest. He must have been sweating a lot under the fear and pressure of Kairi's father showing up.

Sora snorted for a second before smiling. "Alright, then I'll show up smelling especially nice for you Kairi." Since they were now alone, except for Riku, Sora decided to take a little bit more of an impulsive risk and gave Kairi a quick peck on the cheek. He was surprised at his own daring. This was now the second time he'd kissed Kairi. And she seemed to like it too, the way she blushed suddenly and touched her cheek, swaying her hips and shaking herself shyly.

Sora broke through his own blush by flashing his cheesy grin at both Riku and Kairi. "See ya later." He ran to the edge of the roof and leapt off. Sora began his descent before his eyes widened slightly out of concern. He was falling towards an uneven slope; he'd have to be careful if he was going to maintain his balance upon landing.

He thought he landed his feet well when they connected with the ground, and he did, but he leaned too far forward to brace himself for the impact and after coming to a complete stop, dropped face-first onto the hard pavement.

"You okay Sora?" Kairi asked, watching him from her roof still.

Sora stretched his arm out and gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm fine," he moaned. "Just a little stumble, that's all."

Riku's voice drifted over to him now. "Well you'd better get going or you're not going to get any of your mother's special back-to-school breakfast!"

Sora snapped onto his feet and started running backwards. "Right, bye guys! See you at eight!"

"And don't forget to wear your new uniform!" Kairi hollered.

"I won't!"

"I'll fix your tie if you suck at it!" she added.

"You mean we actually have to _wear_ those ugly things? I thought we could just stick 'em in our pockets and forget all about them!" Sora yelled, reaching the corner. He could see Kairi folding her arms at him, and he laughed before continuing back towards his house.

When he returned home, Sora took the opportunity of his open window to leap right back inside of it, the walls now being lit by the reflecting light of the Sun. He opened his bedroom door and walked downstairs, where his mother was already frying up slices of ham and using a piping bag to make devilled eggs.

"Morning mum," he said, smiling.

"Shoes off in the house Sora," she answered, not even turning to look at her son for the moment. Sora grumbled and went to the front door. He kicked off his shoes and his mother's voice continued to drift towards him. "So how was the school sunrise this year?"

"Interesting," replied Sora, coming back into the kitchen in his sock-clad feet. He leaned his back against the counter and Anne looked up through her brown hair as she added paprika and parsley to the six devilled egg halves, two for her and four for Sora. There was a slightly mischievous smile on her face that unnerved Sora.

"Really?" she asked. "Did you and Kairi kiss?"

Sora's cheeks quickly transitioned from peach to salmon and he frowned at his mother. "No, but we _did_ have it at Kairi's place this year."

"You sound disappointed that you and Kairi didn't kiss."

"Mom!"

"Alright dear, I'll stop teasing you. So was that the only reason it was interesting?"

"No," Sora answered. "Kairi's dad never knew that this is what we actually did every year, so when he found out that Kairi was missing, and then realized by all the noise we were making on the roof by talking that she was up there, we all started freaking out."

"Why would you do that?" Anne asked, turning away from the finished eggs and moving to flip the frying slices of ham.

"Uh... well, Kairi's kinda getting close to sixteen, mom," Sora answered uncertainly.

Anne paused, holding the flipper in one hand. "Yes, and you'll be sixteen in October. Your point?"

"Well, she—you see, Kairi wasn't exactly wearing the best clothes to get caught wearing while hanging out with two boys on her roof."

Anne smiled out of sight of her son. "Yes... I can see how that would cause both you and Riku to freak out if Seymour caught you. Did he?"

"Yeah," Sora said in a sigh. "But he let us off the hook, more or less."

Anne flipped the ham again before opening the lid to the oven and taking out a plate that already had four slices on it. She placed the last two slices of ham onto the plate and closed the oven door before turning around, smiling. "Well that's good. Let's eat."

-A-D-

When Sora had arrived back at home it had been seven in the morning, and forty minutes had passed by the time he had breakfasted, showered, and changed into his school uniform. He wasn't too fond of it, but it wasn't _that_ bad either. A short-sleeved button-up white shirt (which he did _not_ do up the top button), okay fine, a pair of shorts, that was okay, but they were a blue plaid! And then he had to wear the stupidly massive dark blue socks that nearly went up to his knees along with the pair of dark blue running shoes that were also mandatory... the staff seemed to want to keep the students' bodies cool, but to have their feet become unbearably hot and sweaty!

But the plaid tie of the same bloody colour as the shorts was his biggest problem. He only just realized while holding it in his hands after getting the rest of his uniform on that he had no idea on how to tie a tie, and it was just his bad luck that he'd already told his mother during their breakfast together that Kairi had offered to help him tie his tie if he sucked at it. This of course, meant that Anne was perfectly allowed to refuse helping her poor incompetent son in the act of tying it in order for him to undergo the embarrassment of having his soon-to-be-girlfriend tie it for him. Fortunately for him, he was able to put his crown pendant on overtop of it, so he felt that it negated the tie out.

Sora left the house after five minutes of his mother's teasing, rolling his eyes as he shouldered his brown backpack, laden with binders, empty notebooks, pens and pencils that he'd need for the year. The Sun was already up much higher than it had been when he'd left Kairi's, and the air was already a few degrees warmer than before. All around him the streets were slowly becoming filled with children from around his age to those the age of five, walking, riding bikes, rollerblading, or skateboarding to their different institutions of learning either by themselves, with their parents (in the case of the youngest ones), or in small groups of talking friends that would only get larger as the students made their way to school.

On a good day Sora could make it from his to Kairi's house in fifteen minutes, which was the amount of time he'd allotted himself since he left at a quarter to eight. He didn't want to seem over-anxious to see her again and show up early. That might have given Seymour the wrong impression given the incident that had occurred during the earlier morning.

But he forgot to make concessions for the increased traffic on the sidewalks, and that some people walked slower than he did, so eighteen minutes had already passed by the time he reached Kairi's street and rounded the bend at the base of the hill's third peak. He was running by this point, as Kairi preferred people to be punctual when she set a time for them to arrive, or really, she only preferred _him_ to be punctual, since Riku would show up as close to the time as he'd feel like and no one would really care because he'd been that way for years. So Kairi had Sora pussy-whipped and wrapped around her pinkie finger, and the frustrating part was that he _knew_ it.

Surprise was his emotion when he looked up the hill and saw Kairi standing on the walk in front of her porch. She was wearing her uniform as well, almost exactly the same as his except that instead of shorts the girls all wore miniskirts with the same blue plaid pattern. Sora sighed slightly when he saw her, because she could make even the uniform look good on her. He noticed that she was also wearing the oval pendant made of a yellow jewel and that it was something he hadn't noticed had actually been hanging over her neck for years until now. There was another person there too, talking to her, but Kairi's expression was one that showed she was hardly interested in the conversation. Her hand was running through her hair and Sora could just see that she was biting her bottom lip, a habit of hers when she was feeling uncomfortable.

Sora slowed down a little and came closer, his cerulean eyes narrowing to inspect the person. He was male, and looked to be a few years older than him, though at their ages that really meant nothing as the man could have only been sixteen while he looked nineteen. He had mid-length sandy-blonde hair that was tied back in a short ponytail, and had a definite athletic build, muscled arms being showcased by the folded-up sleeves of his own white uniform shirt. There was a bit of dark stubble on his chin, like he hadn't shaved for one or two days, and he towered over Kairi, and therefore Sora, by at the very least a half a foot.

"Come on babe," Sora caught him saying. "Let me walk you to school."

"Sorry Bob," Kairi answered surely, "I'm waiting for my friends."

"But I'm your boyfriend ain't I?" Bob asked, what sounded like a bit of frustration creeping into his voice.

"Bob, I went on one date with you, and it was horrible," Kairi said defiantly, looking up at him in the eyes. "I'm not your girlfriend."

Sora got close enough that he decided it was proper for him to intervene on Kairi's behalf. "Hey Kairi; who's this guy?"

Kairi and Bob looked at him and Sora felt his stomach quiver slightly with butterflies as the red-head beamed at him. "Hi Sora, how was breakfast?"

Sora smiled. "Awesome as usual. My mom's devilled eggs are always perfect. I'll never understand how she's never able overcook them, not a hint of green on the yolks. It's almost like she's got a gift or a curse for wonderful cooking; much like your special Christmas cookies, Kai."

He had stopped in front of Kairi and she giggled slightly at his compliment.

"Excuse me doll," Bob said, looking between the two of them with annoyance. "But who is this runt?"

Sora saw that Kairi nearly groaned, but then her eyes flashed mischievously. Without warning, Sora found that Kairi had abruptly grasped his arm and pulled him the one foot closer to her. "Bob, meet my boyfriend: Sora."

Sora was sure his heart skipped three beats and the world seemed to freeze like somebody had cast a Stop spell.

_Did she just say what I think she said!?_

At Roxas' comment, the Stop spell appeared to have ended and Sora glanced at Kairi quickly. "Kairi what are you doing?" he whispered.

"Just play along," she returned quickly and quietly. "Bob, Sora. Sora, Bob."

"Uh, hiya," Sora said nervously. It was not every day that the girl he _did_ want to become his girlfriend would just up and tell people that she _was already_ his girlfriend. "So, how do you know Kairi?"

Bob looked suspiciously at the pair of them, and Sora began to feel sweat bead on his forehead, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that Kairi was beginning to as well, despite the silly smile she had plastered onto her face. Their masquerade was wearing thin; and even thinner when Bob folded his arms and said, "Really? _You're_ her new boyfriend? I don't think I've ever seen a scrawnier runt."

Sora felt more than a little bit of indignation well up inside of him at the comment. "Hey! That was uncalled for. What'd I ever do to you?"

"You claim to be dating my girlfriend," Bob replied in an intimidating growl, taking a step towards them.

"Look pal, it's Kairi's decision; I'm really just lucky that she likes me so much," Sora said, not backing down from the teen that looked as if he could easily flatten Sora without a second thought. This jerk didn't scare him, _Sephiroth_ scared him!

"I'm not convinced she does," Bob added, folding his arms. "You could just be a friend and you're both trying to get rid of me."

"Sora's my boyfriend Bob," said Kairi, glaring at him. "He's not just another guy."

"Then prove to me that you're boyfriend and girlfriend," Bob said, folding his gorilla arms again.

Sora felt his cheeks grow warm as hot blood rushed into them. _Prove it?_ He glanced at Kairi and saw that her face had turned a delicate shade of pink too. His ears grew hot as his eyes looked straight into the confused and frightened blue eyes of the red-headed princess.

They broke eye contact and looked back at Bob. "Prove it how?" Kairi asked anxiously.

"Kiss 'im," Bob said, jerking his head towards Sora. "You never kissed me babe, so it's the only way I'll know for sure that he really _is_ your boyfriend so I can beat him up and show you how wrong you are for choosing such a weakling like him over me."

"If Kai and I have to kiss just so that you can try to beat me then it might be worth more for you to keep wondering," Sora said, a clear note of warning in his voice. "Because there is no way that I am going down to an ass like you."

Bob cracked his knuckles. "You're going to regret saying that, twerp. Now kiss her before I decide to make things ugly."

"Master Sora," Kairi said suddenly, drawing the attention of both boys towards her, "why don't we just do it and get it over with. Then you can beat up Bob."

"Oh she's calling you 'Master' is she?"

Sora ignored Bob's comment and smiled slightly as he turned to face Kairi. "Okay, Princess Kairi."

"Oh you are _so_ dating if you're calling each other by pet names!" Bob growled.

Sora paid no attention to Bob anymore, as the butterflies that usually fluttered around in his stomach were gone. He had a shrewd suspicion as to why as one of his hands went to the waist of the pretty girl in front of him, and the other went to cup her by the back of her head. Likely he wasn't feeling as nervous because they were doing this out of fun to spite the teenager in front of them, but there was still the twinge of unease.

He was consciously aware of just how close he had come to Kairi when her fingers graced his shoulders around the straps of his brown backpack and the back of his neck. He could feel Kairi's moist breath on his nose, and through the musk he could still catch the scent of strawberries. He still wasn't sure just how it was that she was always able to smell that way, but the fragrance was beginning to make his mouth water as his eyes dropped onto her pink lips, slowly coming closer as she entranced him back with her sparkling indigo eyes.

Sora forgot that Bob was even there as their noses rubbed against each other and their foreheads touched, and they hesitated, looking into each other's eyes; each with a little bit of uncertainty. Sora felt the butterflies return again as to him it appeared as if it was just him and Kairi, and the golden light of the Sun that they had watched rise together streamed through her auburn hair that blew slightly in the wind and made it look like it was on fire. Sora rubbed his fingers through it as Kairi bit her bottom lip, and he found to his surprise that he was completely enthralled by the soft feel of it. His eyes were once more drawn to hers, and he realized completely that he was truly in love with her as the indigo swirled slightly in hesitation, like a swimmer about to take a plunge without knowing what the water would feel like.

Sora felt his mouth beginning to go dry and worked his tongue desperately to form some words to keep a little bit of moisture inside. He didn't know what to say just that he had to say something. "Kairi," he said quietly, as they were still only nose distance from each other, "have—have I ever told you before just how beautiful you are?"

He could feel her fingers running through the soft spikes of his hair as her hand made its way further up from his neck to the back of his head. He sighed in contentment and smiled at the feel of her fingertips rubbing gently against the roots of his hair at the scalp. "You have now," Kairi said. He looked deeply into her eyes again and watched as they fluttered closed. He couldn't even tell when he closed his own eyes, as the only image that was being sent to his brain was that of Kairi, whether it was the after image from his eyes or just the picture of her in his memory. The breeze that was blowing and setting Kairi's hair on fire with the light of the sun was from the west, and the sweet salty smell of the ocean mingled with Kairi's unique strawberry scent, and it was all Sora could do to restrain himself from lunging forward to plant his lips on hers, just to see what she tasted like.

Their lips hadn't even made the lightest brush against another when a voice from behind Kairi broke them apart with shocking abruptness.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" Riku said, coming down the hill to them wearing his own school uniform. He then looked to the side quizzically. "What are you doing here Bob?"

"Oh it's you Riku," Bob said apprehensively, a faint quiver in his eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I already asked you Bob," Riku replied, his tone getting lower and his aqua eyes slowly taking on the resoluteness of cold steel.

"Well, you see, I _was_ planning on walking to school with my girlfriend here, but she's telling me to take a hike since this guy's apparently her new boyfriend."

Riku looked curiously at Sora and Kairi as they blushed violently in front of Riku, both of them looking down in embarrassment and disappointment.

_Ah man, we were sooo close!_ Sora thought.

"I'm still skeptical," Bob continued, while Riku still gazed at Sora and Kairi, "and they were just about to kiss to prove it to me before you showed up. Then I'd have beaten up this little carpet-muncher."

Riku's face became funny for a second before he started to laugh. "Okay Bob," Riku said. "Firstly, Kairi's more or less single; she's not going out with Sora. Secondly, she's not your girlfriend and never will be if you keep harassing her like this. Thirdly, if you tried to beat up one of my best friends, not only would you piss me off more than your story about being Kairi's boyfriend is, but you'd also get your ass kicked by the 'little carpet-muncher' as you call him."

"What? This runt?" Bob asked nervously. "They're both friends of yours? But, they're a year below us!"

"See, this is why I don't hang out with you Bob," Riku said. "You're intolerant of anyone you think is beneath you."

"HEEYYYY!!"

Sora looked up and down the street as a familiar voice broke crystal-clear through the air. He'd recognize that female voice anywhere in all the worlds, because there was only one girl he knew that could have the curled brown hair and a bubbly attitude like that. Walking up the base of the hill towards them was Selphie, and walking with her were two more of their friends: Tidus and Wakka. The girl and two boys were all dressed in the same uniform as Sora, Riku, and Kairi were. Wakka was easily identifiable over the other two by his larger figure and mountain-peak of orange hair, while Tidus' short and slightly spiky blonde hair contrasted with Selphie's brown curls.

Selphie gasped and ran towards him and Riku as soon as she spotted and recognized them. "Sora! Riku!" she yelled, knocking Bob aside and throwing her arms around Riku, much to his surprise. "You're both back! Where have you been all this time?"

She didn't give time for either of them to answer as she detached herself from Riku and hugged Sora now, looking at Kairi while she did so with the widest smile anyone had ever seen plastered upon her face. "Hey Kairi, how was your summer? Wait!" She gasped and let Sora go before she came almost an inch from Kairi's face. "You're blushing! What happened?"

Sora began rubbing his nose and ducked his head down, hoping that Selphie wouldn't see it. _And we were so close too,_ he thought again in disappointment.

Riku thwarted his plans to stay hidden a few seconds before Tidus and Wakka reached them. "These two almost shared their first kiss," he chuckled.

"Good man Sora," Tidus said, slapping him on the shoulder. Selphie squealed. Wakka laughed loudly, and the two aforementioned teenagers turned on their best friend with looks of annoyance overtop of blisteringly red faces to yell, "RIKU! SHUT IT!"

Tidus and Wakka then noticed Bob. "What are you doing here?" they asked, giving him confused looks.

"He's saying that Kairi's his girlfriend," Riku answered, glaring at the teen in his and Wakka's year again. "And that he was going to beat up Sora for being with her when they were quickly pretending to be going out so that he'd leave her alone."

Every eye turned to Bob with ruthless stares. He gulped.

"Alright, I can take a hint when I'm not wanted. I'll see you later, doll, when you don't have all your friends around to protect that little runt."

Sora shook his head as they all watched him leave at a brisk pace. "How do you guys know that creep?"

"He was on the Blitz team last year, ya," Wakka said, slowly starting towards the top of the third peak, the others beginning to move along in a pack that was more or less between the sidewalk and the cobblestone road. "And he's been in classes wit' me an' Riku for years."

"And he thought I was pretty during my freshman Grade 10 year last year," Kairi said, "and he kept bugging me and Selphie for a week until I finally agreed to go on _one_ date with him just to shut him up. It didn't go very well; he kept talking about himself and how great he was and was blowing himself up to be this grand saviour of the universe or something." Sora smirked and Kairi winked at him.

"Doesn't look like that helped much Kai," Selphie sighed. "He's still as persistent as ever."

"Well maybe after either Sora or I pound him into the dust he'll stop," Kairi said.

Their three other friends looked at them strangely. "How?" Tidus asked. "I mean, you do look a bit stronger, both of you, but you're still way out of Bob's league. He was one of our strongest forwards last year; he could throw a pass clear through the Sphere Pool!"

"Well, even if they can't, _I_ won't let him go around calling her 'doll'. The next time I see him do that, I'm punching his lights out," Riku said.

"Thanks Riku," Kairi said appreciatively. "You're a good friend, but you don't need to go that far do you?"

"'Course we do Kairi. Some guys like 'im need to be taught lessons the hard way. An' Riku's not getting the only piece 'o 'im, ya?" Wakka said, smiling and cracking a couple of knuckles. He and Riku grinned at each other and pounded fists. Sora laughed with Tidus and Kairi and Selphie shook their heads. Boys were so hopeless.

"So where have you guys been all this time?" Tidus asked, looking at each in turn. "I didn't see you once all summer Kairi, and it's been a year since I've seen either of you two."

"I've been around," Riku said, his tone of voice indicating that that was as far as he was going to explain.

Sora thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick. "I had to help out my aunt, uncle, and cousins at the ranch last year," he said. "A couple of the stable hands got injured when a Chocobo Eater showed up before the Guardians could get rid of it."

"Oh yeah I heard about that," Selphie said concernedly. "Are the chocobos and stable hands okay?"

_Wow,_ Roxas said his voice showing how amazed he was that the story was actually true in premise, _you're little lie actually happened!_

"They're fine now," Sora answered, trying to keep his nervousness out of his voice.

"And I came over for the summer," Kairi added, sharing a quick glance with Sora as they reached the crest of the third peak. They turned to the left and began heading north. "It had been a while since I'd gone riding, and I wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten how."

"And you wanted to see my cousin Sikora again," Sora said.

"Well, she is a nice girl," Kairi answered, "and she and I get along well."

"Or was it that you wanted to have Sora to yourself for two months?" Tidus asked, smirking.

Kairi blushed. "It—it wasn't like that!" she stuttered. "I barely even saw Sora until last week. He was always doing his duty and job."

"Ah, brudda, you mean you couldn't even take a day off to be with Kairi?" Wakka said, turning around and wagging his finger. "I don't know Kairi, maybe you shouldn't want to start going out with this guy if he can't even do that for you."

Sora looked away from Kairi and saw out of the corner of his eye that she had turned her head away and was biting her bottom lip again. "Sora had his reasons."

"But still, you should have told us where you were," Tidus said. "We would have liked to know you know! Aren't we all friends?"

"We are!" Sora said. "I just—I just wasn't really in a position to be able to tell you guys where I was."

"But—"

"Ah, just drop it Tidus," Wakka said, waving it off. "They've all got their own reasons. Maybe some crazy stuff happened to them, ya?" he looked back at Tidus.

The blonde dropped his gaze for a second and rubbed a finger against his cheek. "Right, crazy stuff."

"Hold it!" Kairi said suddenly. The whole group stopped and Sora turned to look at Kairi. She was looking directly at him. "Come here Sora."

Sora took a tentative step towards Kairi, but her face softened and she giggled slightly as her hands went to his tie. "I can't believe I just noticed it," she said as she began to fix his tie, which had been completely untied and was hanging loosely around his neck. "You're completely hopeless Sora."

Sora rubbed the back of his head while his friends laughed. "Sorry Kai, but Mom wouldn't help me with it. And I've got no clue how to tie these things."

Kairi smiled. "How about I teach you after school?" she said, finishing fixing the tie. She looked at her watch and she gasped. "Oh snap! We're going to be late for our first day back!"

"Oh we're going to be in _so_ much trouble!" Selphie moaned as they all began to book it up to the highest peak of the hill. "I don't want to have detention on the first day!"

"Then just run Selph!" Wakka said, leading the pack with Riku. They reached the very top of the hill and looked down to their right. There was the school, a short distance away from the bottom of the hill and only a little bit to their right. Already they could see a good number of smaller figures wearing white and blue plaid making their way into the two-level rectangular concrete building, walking past the green grass, colourful flowers, and trees in the lawn in front of the school. The grounds to the back were hidden from their view at the moment.

Sora found it strangely amazing that just over a week ago he had been looking down at this same building with Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, King Mickey, and Pluto, and now he was able to see it with his friends from before that time in a whole new light.

Maybe King Mickey was wrong, hopefully King Mickey was wrong. He had tried the adventuring life, and loved it immensely, but in that moment at looking down at the school, he just wanted to settle back into the normal routine of things. No Heartless, no Nobodies, no Keyblades, no battles against forces of darkness, no Princesses of Heart.

He glanced at Kairi. Okay... maybe _one_ Princess of Heart.

"Come on let's get going!" Tidus said, pushing him forward as Sora seemed the most rooted to the spot. "Miss Pasynth is going to kill us if we're late!"

Sora nodded and began to run down the hill after the others, ignoring the pain that was slowly flaring in his side. "Who's Miss Pasynth again?"

"Oh right, you missed last year here. She's our year's administrator, and she doesn't like it when people are late on the first day."

"Sounds like you speak from experience," Sora noted.

Selphie and Kairi both snorted. "He _was_ late the first day back last year. That's how he knows," Kairi said.

"I told him that he should have woken up earlier," Selphie said, shaking her head.

"It's not _my_ fault there was a power outage the week before and I had forgotten to reset my clock to the right time!" Tidus complained.

"Sure it wasn't Tidus," Riku snorted sarcastically. "Now can we all shut up and just get to class on time so we all _won't_ be spending our first day back in after-school detention!"

"What do you have to do after school?" Sora asked.

"What's her name?" Kairi asked, smiling teasingly.

Riku grunted. "There isn't a girl," he answered. "I just think that _you_ guys are the ones who would have something to do after school; _alone_. After all, Kairi's going to be giving you her _private_ 'tying a tie' lesson."

Sora felt his ears and cheeks get warmer as they reached the school's lawn. There were still a number of students outside and the Keyblade Master checked his watch. 8:20. He had five minutes, so there was still time to get inside, find his locker again, and drop off the stuff that he wouldn't need for first block.

"Wait," Selphie said as they reached the doors, "what classes do you guys all have?"

"Uh," Sora muttered, moving his left hand into the left pocket of his shorts. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and read it aloud. "Let's see here. I've got English 20 first block with Jean. Second block is Phys-Ed 20 with Sauster-sensei. Then lunch, then Chem. 20 with Meline, and fourth block is Combat Mastery 20 Adv. Funny, it doesn't say who the teachers are for that one."

"What have I got?" Kairi asked, dropping her backpack and opening it as the others went for their own timetables. "Looks like I've got English with you Sora, and Phys-Ed in the same block, except I've got Miss Miharo since I'm a girl. I have Chemistry in the same block, except I'm in AP so I've got Ceren, and then I've got Combat Mastery Adv. too."

"Aw," Selphie pouted. "I've only got gym and Combat Mastery with you guys. I have to go to Math 20 Applied with Hyuki-sensei right away."

"Sucks to be you," Tidus said, sighing as he looked down from his own timetable. "What have you got in third?"

"Fashion Studies 20 with Mrs. Janie," answered Selphie.

"Lucky, you've got all your options this semester. I have to go through Physics with Gerard in third. I guess I'll see you three during lunch and fourth block then."

"How can you stand doing physics?" Selphie asked, shaking her head. "It's math; you don't like math!"

Tidus cocked his head to one side and smiled slightly. "It's better than Bio, that's why."

"Then why don't you take Chemistry?" Riku asked.

"That's next semester."

"When did you get into Advanced anyway Kai?" Sora asked, looking at Kairi quizzically. "You didn't fight like the rest of us did on the island, and I remember that you never did get the greatest marks in the regular class in Junior High anyway."

Kairi smiled and looked at him. "I got better while you were away. I had to take a private test near the end of last year to get in, Selphie did too. It was a little hard, but we obviously did something right or else we all wouldn't be in the same class this year."

"Doesn't matter for us though," Wakka sighed, glancing at Riku and putting away his own timetable as the girls placed their backpacks upon their backs again, not having the luxury of pockets in their miniskirts. "We're a year ahead of you guys, so it's not that often that we'd get into the same classes, ya?"

Selphie shrugged as they began to finally make their way inside of the building. "We still have lunch hour though, so we can always see each other then and after school right?"

"Sure Selph," Tidus said, smiling at her. "Anyone want to grab ice cream at the 'Sweet Shop' after school, before Kairi's private 'tie tutoring' I mean?"

"I'm in," Sora said, looking around in the hallways with a confused expression. "Now which way was my locker again?"

Kairi smiled slightly and rolled her eyes. "Like I said earlier Sora, you're hopeless. Yours is just a few metres down from mine and Selphie's lockers."

"And I'm a little further down the hall from them," Tidus said, waving goodbye with the other three Grade 11s to Riku and Wakka as they left to get to their own lockers or classes. "Good thing too," he added quietly, leading the way for Sora as Kairi and Selphie followed behind, the girls already whispering about something only the gods knew what, "having a locker next to Selphie is a guarantee for a year of craziness. I don't know how Kairi can stand it."

Sora snorted slightly as they turned to the left and opened a door to ascend a staircase to the second floor. "They're girls. How are _we_ supposed to understand everything about them?" Tidus shrugged and they continued on up the stairs to get to the second floor. He opened the door for Sora and stayed there for a few seconds, keeping it open for the following Kairi and Selphie.

"Thanks Tidus," Selphie said, smiling and going through the door. An almost imperceptible pink flashed onto his cheeks for an instant.

"No problem," he replied, coming through the door and letting it close as Sora waited for him and both girls ambled down the hall to their own lockers on their own. Sora gave his friend a look and Tidus frowned at him for a second before moving down the hall after their other two friends, a group of three girls passing them on the other side, carrying books in their hands.

"And speaking of girls," Tidus began, smiling lewdly at Sora with suggestive eyes, "have you been having trouble keeping your eyes level?" Sora glanced at him before looking in front of him again.

He smirked slightly and said quietly, "I love our school. Kairi looks so cute in a miniskirt."

Unknown to him, Kairi actually heard him say that, and she blushed; it was noticed by Selphie causing the girl to start hounding on her.

The heads of the foursome jerked up as the warning bell rang, and they immediately began to dash down the hall and weave through the rest of the crowd of students, breaking off in turn as each reached their assigned lockers. Sora's memory of Wednesday when he came in and got his timetable, uniform, and locker returned and his arm dashed into a pocket to pull out the combination for his lock.

"Come on Sora let's go!" Kairi said hurriedly, appearing suddenly behind him. "Oh, _why_ did our lockers have to be so far away from our English room?"

"How are you ready already?" Sora asked incredulously as he unceremoniously dumped one of the two binders in his backpack into the bottom of his locker.

"Hurry up Sora!" Kairi moaned, stomping her foot with her hands clutching onto the pink straps of her pink and black backpack.

"Cool your head Kairi! Do I need anything else...? No I'm good to go!" Sora exclaimed, slamming his locker shut and locking it after holding up his backpack and looking into it.

"Then move it Mister Keyblade Master!" Kairi said, a little bit stern and a little bit anxious as she glanced at her watch.

"Sure thing Your Highness, but where is our English classroom?"

"Down at the other end of this hall. Just stay by my side, don't hit anyone, and don't fall down!" Kairi told him, turning on her heel and running down the hall in the direction they had come from. Sora sped along right next to her, wondering at the size of the school. His locker was about five metres away from the western end of the hallway they were in, and he could see the eastern end of the same hallway all the way on the other side of the school, ended by a bright window. There were a couple of people sitting at a table by that window, likely Twelfth Grade Seniors with a spare in first (though why they bothered to show up at school this early when they had a first block spare was beyond him), but they seemed so small.

And his classroom was all the way over _there!?_

The two of them made a right near the end of the hall and entered into a little 'island' area where the hallway circled two staff rooms and a small indoor lunch area with numerous tables bolted to the floor. Classrooms were on the outside of this island. The Keyblade Master and Princess of Heart and Radiant Garden reached their English room at a walk, but that couldn't hide the slightly breathless looks on their faces. The classroom was already more or less full of talking students, and a seating plan was being displayed on an overhead. Kairi went into the second of six rows and sat down in the third and final seat in the row, while Sora went off to the fifth row and was in the second of five seats behind a desk that was currently unoccupied.

The bell rang and their teacher waited for the rest of them to take their seats for a minute before rising and going to the door. She was about to close it when a girl with vibrant short pink hair pulled back into tight ponytail and dark red eyes burst through with a blue binder clutched to her wheezing chest.

"Made it," the tardy girl said. She looked up at their teacher. "I'm sorry. I didn't know where the room was."

"That's okay," the teacher said, smiling at the apology. "We haven't started yet. Hurry up and take your seat." The girl smiled and nodded and glanced up at the overhead before heading over to the seat in front of Sora.

"I didn't know you were in my class," she said, smiling a little as she placed her binder down on the desk. "Where've you been all year?"

"Dunash," Sora answered her, "Had to help out my aunt and uncle. How've you been Saji?"

She shrugged and sat down as their teacher turned off the overhead and wheeled it to the front of the classroom. "I've been okay. Want to catch up during lunch?"

"I don't know," Sora said in a tone that indicated that he didn't really feel like it. "I had planned on sitting through lunch with some of my other friends and catching up with them. But I'm going out for ice cream with them after school; you're welcome to join us if you want."

"Nah," Saji said, taking one of the school agendas and their course expectations and semester outline that their teacher was now passing out from row to row. She handed the stack back to Sora before speaking again. "I'm going swimming with Brit at the south beach after school. Tomorrow maybe?"

"Good morning class," their teacher said from her desk at the left side of the room, right beside a filing cabinet and two large bookcases, and attracted their attention. Standing at five foot two, with short black hair and round glasses, her smiling face and slightly bubbly voice was easily able to put every one of her students at ease. But dressed in a black vest overtop of a pink shirt, shiny black shoes peeping out underneath the sharp creases of obsidian pants, her body language and look gave the image of business casual.

"Good morning Jean," the class chorused back.

"I assume you all had good summers?" she asked. They nodded. Jean smiled and looked down at her desk. "Just going to take attendance here. Andy?"

"Present," called the boy in the front seat of the first row.

"Bradley?"

"Here."

She finished up attendance and sent it off to the office with Kairi before the whole class groaned as Jean forced them to go through the whole process of reading through the front twenty pages or so of the school's agenda and a look through the guideline to their coursework as a class, taking roughly twenty minutes total. As soon as that was out of the way, she looked up from her position at the front of the class and quickly glanced at each of them in turn. "Now, since this is the start of a new year and all of you are new faces to me, I'd like to get some marks in soon and some practice out of the writing portion of the curriculum so that I can see where your writing ability stands before we get into our heavier essays. I would like each of you to use any prose form you wish to tell me either about yourself, or your summer. There is a stack of foolscap paper here, and dictionaries and thesauruses that are available for your use."

One boy, Joe, raised his hand. "Are you serious Jean?"

She smiled at him as the class gave either groans at the assignment or laughs at the question. "Yes Joe, I am serious. I want you all to tell me how you got here. And I don't mean how you got to this building or class," she added, seeing the obvious smug or confused looks on her students, "I want to know how it is that you got to this particular stage in your lives. How you got to being the person you are today, sitting here in this classroom in front of me. What makes you who you are? Tell me that in your own words as best as you are able through writing; that is the assignment. It has to be at least one foolscap page long, double-spaced, and I would like it handed in by the end of class on Wednesday."

Sora raised his hand. "Will we have time to write tomorrow as well?"

Jean nodded her head. "Yes, the rest of today and tomorrow you may use at your leisure to complete the assignment, but we will be starting our unit on Short Stories on Wednesday, so you won't be able to find much time to write in then. So it had better be done by then."

A girl with short dark blue hair and brown eyes raised her hand. "Are we getting marked on this?"

"Yes, Yumi, this assignment will be marked." The class groaned and their teacher looked at the clock. "Time's a ticking; you'd better get started. I'll be available if anyone needs help."

Sora groaned slightly and got out of his desk to go up and get a few pieces of paper to start writing. From his position in the line he found himself right in front of Kairi.

"What are you going to write about?" she asked, a look of anxiety in her eyes as they glanced towards the stack of blank papers.

Sora shrugged. "I don't know Kai," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe I'll write about _it_."

He grabbed about six sheets of paper and turned around, facing Kairi as she looked at him curiously. "By 'it', do you mean... _sheen?_" Kairi flexed her hand when she said that last word, and it took Sora a second to recognize that she was referencing the sound that the Keyblade made every time it materialized in his hand.

He nodded. "Sure, and I think I'll do everything else too. It _is_ how I got to where I am now after all."

Kairi grabbed her few pieces of paper and smiled. "Well if you're going to drone on about how you're such a hero of the universe, I guess I need to tell my own story too." Sora smiled and went back to his desk. He wrote his name and block number up in the right corner of the page before his mind drew a blank and he looked at his paper in confusion, unsure of where to start. He stared at the paper for a few minutes, finding that it was a little hard for him to concentrate and that his eyes kept getting distracted by either Saji's pink hair or that they were drawn to Kairi far to his left, watching her write.

Eventually though, a couple of words struck Sora's mind and he wrote them across the top margin of his paper as a title: KINGDOM HEARTS. Sora smiled as he looked at his title, and began to write.

-A-D-

He almost didn't notice the passing of time until the bell started to ring, sounding the end of the class for the start of a seven minute break between first and second blocks. Sora looked around anxiously, in case anyone was glancing at his work, and hastily opened his backpack and carefully placed his growing manuscript inside of it before adding his binder in front of it.

"What have you got next Sora?" asked Taykase, a blonde-haired boy who sat behind Sora and had been in his classes for years.

"Phys-Ed, Chem, and Advanced Combat Mastery," he rattled off, looking at his peer's hazel eyes.

"Dang," he said in disappointment. "I don't have you in anything."

"I don't either," Saji sighed.

Sora shouldered his backpack. "Oh well. I guess I'll see you guys later then." He headed for the door and left the room with Kairi.

Second period wasn't all that bad as the boys and girls of the two different gym classes went into the physical education gym in white gym shirts and dark blue shorts, or legless bottoms in the case of the girls. The different teachers decided that since it was the first day back, they'd link their classes together and have them play dodge ball against each other for the whole eighty minutes of the class. The boys won every game, but it was always a losing situation for them since they were playing the girls. If they won, big whoop, they beat the girls; if they lost, they lost to the _girls!_ Sora felt that he did pretty well, considering that he found that his eyes were drawn to Kairi's completely exposed and shapely thighs a lot more than he would have liked, considering the situation they were in.

She vowed to get him back later when he turned out to be the one to throw her out in three of the five games they played.

_Do you think that Kairi was serious about that?_ Sora asked Roxas while he was switching back into his regular uniform at the end of the block.

_I don't think she really will,_ Roxas replied, though Sora could tell that he wasn't all that sure in his answer. _Well, Naminé was egging her on when that ball you threw bounced off of Janette's breasts and hit her on the bum._

_Yeah, that was hilarious. But, Kairi didn't seem too happy about it; actually, none of the girls seemed too happy about it._

_I'd beware Naminé and Selphie for the next while then if I were you,_ Roxas advised. Sora left the boys' locker room. To Sora's surprise and horror, Kairi and Selphie were both waiting for him, annoyed expressions on their faces.

"Uh... hi girls," he said, smiling meekly at them. Their expressions stayed and Sora looked down. "Yeah, sorry about the way I got you out in the second game Kai." He looked up hopefully with a goofy grin, "But you've got to admit it was a funny way to get tagged out."

"No it wasn't Sora," Selphie said, maintaining her grudge. Kairi, however, seemed to melt at the grin Sora flashed and sighed with a tiny smile.

"Come here Sora," she said softly, to her best friend's amazement. "I'll forgive you and fix your tie, but you owe me lunch."

Sora's grin became more pronounced and he stepped up to Kairi. She took his tie from him and began to straighten it out. "Sure thing Kairi," Sora said. "What would you like?"

"Just get me a chicken wrap and a coke at the cafeteria. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers with sub sauce and ranch dressing on the wrap please."

Selphie gasped. "Kairi, think of the carbs in that thing!"

Kairi replaced Sora's tie around his neck and began to tighten it to get the right length. "Does this look like the face of someone who cares?" she asked. "I'll work them off later. Besides, they actually are healthier than some of the other stuff served at the caf."

Selphie sighed. "I guess you're right. Find a table outside for us then would you Kairi?"

"Don't worry Selphie," Kairi said confidently. "I'll grab one and hold it for everyone. Don't forget Sora, I want lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, sub sauce, and ranch dressing on that chicken wrap!"

"I won't," Sora assured her, moving off with Selphie to the cafeteria.

"And a coke! In a can; not in a bottle!"

"Alright Kairi, now go and get us a table!"

-A-D-

On the second floor, two figures watched from the railings of the halls that overlooked the main indoor eating area. They could see Kairi running through the gap between tables in the middle clearly, and Sora walking with Selphie towards the queue of students buying food at one end of the cafeteria.

"There they are," one said.

"Yeah, but where's their buddy?" said the other.

"I don't know," the first one said, shaking his head. "We'll meet him later when it's convenient for us."

-A-D-

Lunch went well. Kairi had managed to hold onto a picnic table underneath a leafy poplar tree, and the six of them were able to sit comfortably together, eating their lunches and comparing mornings. That was until a few girls discovered where Riku was and forced him to run away and hide lest he be caught by the horde of fan girls that would have torn his uniform to ribbons, fainted at the sight of his bare chest or a movement of his long hair to reveal his handsome face, and the ones with stronger constitutions or greater desires would have kissed him to death.

Everyone found it hilarious, and Sora, Wakka, Kairi, and Tidus took the perfect opportunity to eat the remainder of Riku's fries that he'd left behind.

Chemistry had been one of Sora's favourite subjects during his science classes in ninth grade, so he was glad that he was taking chemistry in third block of the first semester, allowing him to jump right into the good stuff just after lunch every day. The only problem he suffered was that he hadn't taken Science 10 and so missed the entire chemistry portion of that, meaning that most everything that was being done as a review for the rest of the students in his class was completely new material to him. By the end of the class he resolved to get both Riku and Kairi to tutor him in chemistry as well.

But it was his final class in the afternoon that was what excited him the most, but gave him the most concern and apprehension. The Combat Mastery classes (and especially the Advanced classes) were designed to teach students the ins and outs of different weapons and magic during their earlier inclusion in the repertoire of optional classes during Junior High, but in High School were set to teach pupils on the use of a weapon that suited them comfortably, train them in mock group battles, familiarize themselves with different fiends across the islands, plan offensive and defensive strategies against said fiends, test them out in the simulation room; and in general prepare them for a career and teach them how to survive in the dangerous line of work of the Guardians. There were always two teachers for this class: one male, and one female, to work one-on-one with each gendre.

Sora's excitement came from being able to show off just how good he was after months of fighting against Heartless and Nobodies, and most recently from the arduous battle he and Riku had had against Xemnas. He'd probably be the best in the class.

His apprehension came from his fear that he'd be unable to stop showing off.

His excitement and nerves ran high when he and a few others in the class reached the classroom to find a piece of paper taped to the glass window in the door telling them to report to the training gym.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Kia, a fifteen-year old girl with soft, shoulder-length golden-brown hair and green eyes.

"Could it be a test?" Tidus asked.

"I don't want to do a test on my first day!" Selphie moaned.

"They could just be testing how good we are," Kairi said, though there was a definite note of anxiety in her voice.

"But who are 'they' in the first place?" asked a boy named Michael. "This is the only class that doesn't have the teachers' names listed. All the other Combat Mastery classes do."

"How do you know that?" Sora asked, looking at him.

"One of my friends in Grade 12 told me," he answered. "He was sparring with pretty-boy Riku in second block, and they've got Mr. Talne and Lily-san."

"Aw, Mr. Talne's good," Tidus said. "I was hoping that we had him."

They reached the training gym and Selphie opened the door for their class, which numbered at fourteen. That wasn't all that unexpected, as the Combat Mastery classes required a test before a person could even be considered to take one for the first time. Occasionally a person could get into the class on potential rather than already shown ability if they failed, but those cases were rare. And the Advanced classes were even harder to get into, requiring an applicant to take both a written and a practical test before they were even given a glance or thought for getting a spot in it. Each year there was only one Combat Mastery Advanced class for each level (10, 20, 30), but unless a student showed a remarkable lack of skill in all areas (since there were some students that were only marginal successful in the practical, but were highly competent and skilled during the theory and tactical components), once they were in the class, they were in the class for the rest of their years of High School, no ifs ands or buts about it, since the 'Advanced' showed that they took the course seriously.

They filed into the training gym and Sora looked around as Selphie shut the door behind them. The room was about thirty-two metres long and twenty-two wide, fixed bleachers that ran the length of the room taking up eight metres of the distance from the wall opposite Sora. They were used by fans of the Kendo club, which practiced at lunch in this room, and by those who came to watch the practical tests or practices for the Combat Mastery (and particularly the Advanced) classes. Oftentimes anywhere from one to twelve fully-fledged Guardians would be present, observing. Against the wall on Sora's right there was a small room at the bottom corner and a door beside the room that led into the simulation chamber, and huddled near the bottom corner to Sora's left was another room that served as an armoury for their training weapons. Wooden swords and knives of differing sizes and types, throwing balls, whips, staves, guns with soft rubber bullets, bows and crossbows with arrows and bolts with soft rubber tips, and magical staffs of varying sizes hung upon hooks in the walls of that room. But just because the projectiles were soft didn't mean that they didn't hurt when they hit a person when students were forced to spar against each other and one held a gun or a bow.

"Well this is boring," said John, a tall boy who was another one of the eight boys in the class. "There's nobody here but us."

"Do you think there actually aren't any teachers?" a blonde girl with blue eyes Sora recognized as Brittany, one of Saji's close friends, asked. "Could this all just be a joke?"

"If it's a joke," said Yumi, who was in Sora's English class, "it's not a very funny one."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Kairi asked loudly, turning around and walking backwards until she reached the steel bleachers and sat down, her hands on her chin and her back leaning forward.

"I guess we wait," said a short boy who wore silver rectangular glasses and had spiky green hair, named Val. "Sucks too; I was hoping we could start early."

Sora sighed and sat down next to Kairi on the bleachers. "Too bad," he said airily. "I was hoping I could try a few moves I came up with in my down-time while I helped out on the ranch last year."

"How'd you get in the class then if you didn't take it with us last year?" asked a muscled young man a few inches taller than Sora with vibrant red hair that came down to his neck.

Sora frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't go to the same Junior High as you, what's your name?"

"David," he answered, extending his hand.

"Sora," the Keyblade Master said, shaking the red head's hand. "And to answer your question, it's because I'm just that good."

David smirked. "Alright then, I want to see how good you are if we're able to spar this block."

"You're on," Sora said, smiling at his new opponent.

The class didn't have to wait much longer for their teachers to show up, as less than a minute later when all of them were sitting down on the bleachers the same double doors they had entered through were both pulled open. That attracted the attention of all eight males and six females of the class with looks ranging from shock at the suddenness to intrigue at just who was entering.

A young man about a foot and a half taller than Sora was standing on the left, and a shorter young woman that was Sora's height stood beside him. The boy's eyes went completely wide in surprise as he looked at the two people standing in the open doorway. The woman had dark brown eyes and short raven hair and was dressed in a black halter-top that ended just above her bellybutton with what looked like the white silhouettes of flowers on it. A grey sleeveless vest was over top of that, its zipper completely undone, and a pink ribbon was tied on her left arm. She wore very short beige shorts as well, pouches hanging down from a belt that was overlaid by black fabric. Her knees were covered by black kneepads, and just below them were the tops of very high white boots. There was also a black headband on her forehead just underneath her bangs, two black tails from it hanging limply behind her head. The man was dressed in a pair of black pants, and wore a black hooded sweater that had the hood drawn up, hiding his face. But on the centre of the black hoodie there were golden lines that formed three circles that resembled the head of King Mickey Mouse of Disney Castle.

These were the representatives of the King, and they were supposed to be his teachers!

That was apparently turned true when the man began to walk forward and speak while throwing his hood back and revealing a mass of intensely spiked red hair. "Good afternoon class," he said, his voice strikingly familiar to both Sora and Kairi, "we're your new teachers, got it memorized?"

-A-D-

_Well this chapter was definitely a hell of a lot longer than it was the last time I wrote it, and I personally also feel that it's better. I conveyed the school system on Destiny Islands better, I've cleared up a continuity issue that cropped up and will have to be edited out of later chapters, I've renamed and explained the purpose of the Combat Mastery (formerly 'Weapons Training') class, and I've given Sora more time to interact with his friends from the canon and friends that we can all infer he had from school, plus I've added in some new people._

_If you've been a fan of this story for a while and regularly review the newer chapters in newer instalments, or just a new reader going through for the first time, tell me what you think of the chapter. I really don't bite and I like hearing comments about my writing as much as I like writing the chapters. And to the old readers, yes, I decided to introduce Kia much earlier this time around. She's one of my favourite OCs that I've created._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	5. The King's Representatives

_Yes, I brought back Axel. It's not like it's a very uncommon thing to do when you think about it. After all, apart from Roxas, Axel is probably the top of the fan favourite members of Organization XIII, next to the people that like Demyx, Xigbar, Zexion, and for some reason that I cannot comprehend, Saïx. Of course, as soon as we actually understand just who Xion is, she'll likely become the top fan favourite._

_We're doing good in the Olympics Canada! Maelle Ricker takes the Gold in Women's Snowboard Cross, skip Kevin Martin and his rink defeat Germany 9-4, our ladies rink snatches a win from Switzerland 5-4, and the Men's Hockey Team Denounced Norway 8-0 with Jereome Iginla netting himself a hat trick! It was an exciting Day 5!_

_Disclaimer: If I knew right this very minute exactly what and who Xion was, I would own Kingdom Hearts. But I don't._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter V: The King's Representatives

The cerulean eyes in Sora's head stared uncomprehendingly at the man who was advancing towards his class. In all circumstances, he should have been dead and gone, but the teal eyes looking out at Sora from above triangular turquoise tattoos and beneath long conical spikes of vibrant red hair were unmistakably real.

Axel was standing in front of him. Axel was standing in front of him. AXEL WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF HIM!!

"HOW!?" Sora asked him, forgetting completely about trying to keep his adventures a secret from the majority of his school friends.

"Sora do you know these guys?" Tidus asked, looking between Sora and the young man and woman.

Sora froze, realizing his slip.

_Oh crap!_

"Uh—well what I meant was how was his hair so spiky," he explained lamely, drawing queer looks from his classmates, except Kairi, who was still adamantly staring at Axel with a look of horror on her face.

The green-haired Val spoke up in confusion. "But your hair is spiky too..."

Axel gave a little cough, attracting their attention towards him again. "Hello? I believe I said, 'Good afternoon class', didn't I?"

"Good afternoon," the fourteen youth returned.

"Now that we have that out of the way," the young woman said, coming forward with a clipboard and a pen in hand, "let's take attendance shall we? Alfred?"

"Here..." came the black-haired boy's response.

"Alyssa?" The girl in question raised her hand in anxiety, the same look taking place on the faces of everyone, excepting Sora and Kairi. Kairi was staring at the man sanding next to the young woman calling roll in surprise, while Sora looked at the young woman in shock for a few seconds before smiling and leaning back. Of course, he would be the _only_ one to really know who they were.

"Bart?" the raven-haired young woman continued. "Brittany? David? John?"

"Present," John said.

"Princess Kairi Talerith?"

Heads turned and eyes swivelled between Kairi and the young woman doing attendance. "Excuse me?" Kairi asked, confused.

"Ooh! Sorry, I mean Kairi?"

"Here," Kairi said.

The young woman's dark brown eyes flickered up from her clipboard and looked at the class. "Ah screw it," she said, "Kia, Michael, Selphie, Tidus, Val, Yumi. Are you all here and are there any names I didn't call?"

"You didn't call my name," Sora said casually. There was a clattering _BANG_ as the young woman tossed the clipboard off to the wooden floor by the wall to her left.

"I don't need to call your name Sora," she said, smiling. Suddenly she started running right for Sora and stopped, bending down slightly and placing her smiling face only a few inches away from his. "How've you been Sora? I hope that you're still in top form since last we met."

Sora pumped his chest. "I've been doing alright Yuffie, you?"

"Pretty good," she answered, leaning back. "I've managed to land this job of becoming your teacher with this guy here," she jerked her right thumb back at Axel before returning her hand to her hip, "so you and the rest of your class are going to have to call me 'The Great Ninja Kisaragi Yuffie', and don't you forget it Sora!"

"I won't Great Ninja Yuffie," Sora said, smiling but rolling his eyes all the same. The corners of Yuffie's mouth twitched up even more and she took a step to Sora's right.

"So here is the famous Kairi," she said, turning her head to the side for a second. Yuffie closed her eyes and smiled wider. "You've grown even prettier than you were when I met you last year Kairi."

Kairi blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks," she said, giggling nervously at the attention being drawn to herself and Sora.

"As for me, the name's Axel," said the red-haired Nobody. "That's A-X-E-L, got it memorized?"

"What?" Sora asked, smiling broadly. "You mean that I can't call you 'Number VIII' or 'The Flurry of Dancing Flames'? Really I can't?"

"If you start that Roxas, I'll have to beat the names out of your head."

"Stop calling me that," said Sora. "My name is 'Sora', not an anagram of 'Sora' with an 'X' stuck into it."

_Hey!_

_Sorry, I didn't mean it personally._

The rest of the class were looking at the four with suspicion, and it fell to the golden-brown haired and green eyed Kia to ask the question a second time. "How do you all know each other?"

Yuffie smiled and looked up at the girl. "Guess the cat's out of the bag. Sora, would you like to explain to your class?"

Sora smiled in annoyance at Yuffie. It had to be her and Axel. The King's Representatives just _had_ to be Yuffie and Axel (however Axel had managed to come back to life). There couldn't have been two people who were any less subtle in their dealings with him or who would have known how to act as if they didn't know him and Kairi. Truthfully, Axel might have been able to pull it off, but with Yuffie as a partner it proved completely impossible.

"Alright," Sora said. "I am the two-time saviour of the universe from the forces of darkness. I am the Chosen Master of a gigantic key, called a Keyblade, and it can mystically appear in my hand whenever I wish it to, and am friends with a mouse that is a king, a duck that is a magician, and a dog that is a knight. Kairi is a princess in two different ways and also has a Keyblade, as does my friend Riku and the mouse king. Yuffie is one of my friends from another world, and Axel was an iffy baddish kinda guy who kidnapped Kairi and who by all accounts should be dead but isn't."

The class was silent for a few seconds before some people started to laugh. "Your sarcasm has reached new levels Sora," Yumi said. "Seriously, who are they?"

"Just old friends," Yuffie said, smiling that they couldn't believe the audacity of Sora's story. "Alright, since you all are present and accounted for, you all must have noticed the note we stuck on the classroom door, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You've gotten into this class, but that doesn't convince either Axel or myself that you can really fight or that you have combat or tactical skills."

"Since when have you had tactical skills?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuffie vanished suddenly in a cloud of black smoke and reappeared behind Sora in another cloud. But as soon as Sora recognized that she had disappeared he leapt forward off of the bleachers and twisted around, watching as Yuffie reappeared an instant later, holding a white foot-long dagger with a golden handle over a black grip in her right hand, positioned perfectly to be around his neck were he to still be sitting.

"A ninja's got to have them Sora," she said, smiling and ignoring the shocked looks on the rest of the students. "See, I just forced your hand; now you're in an open area and close to Axel, who could attack you, or leave you alone. Don't forget Sora."

Sora glanced nervously at Axel, who looked down on him, and he looked back to Yuffie submissively. "I will, Great Ninja Yuffie."

"Great," she said, sheathing her dagger in its scabbard on her belt. "Now we can all get started. Head into the armoury and come out with a weapon. Then pair up with each other and we'll see how each of you stacks up. But, you can stop calling me The Great Ninja Yuffie, it's getting annoying hearing it so often; just Miss Yuffie or Miss Kisaragi will do fine."

The students nodded and went into the armoury, taking two minutes until they all emerged holding a weapon. The majority of them chose wooden swords, but there were a few notable exceptions. Kia had reached for a bow; Yumi held two wooden daggers, and Val wielded a long staff in his hands.

Sora faced across from David, and they bowed to each other before taking their own stances. David held his sword in both hands above his head in a high guard, while Sora kept his own wooden sword pointed off to the side in the stance he had taken through the months of wielding the Keyblade. He glanced around. The boys had paired up against each other, and the girls were all facing other females. Kairi was up against Brittany, Tidus was facing Michael, and Selphie had to contend with Kia.

"Alright," Axel murmured audibly. "Let the sparring begin. Go!"

Sora looked up at David after Axel said the word, and saw the wooden blade swooping down towards his left side. He reacted on instinct, seeing the swords of too many Invisibles and Armoured Knights coming towards him like that. Sora's wooden sword flashed up and its blade turned downwards as he took a step to the right to block the attack. The swords connected, and Sora's stayed ridged against the force of David's strike. Sora saw the boy's eyes bulge in surprise for an instant. Following that as soon as he felt the pressure release from his wooden blade, Sora turned it around and directed the flow of his sword towards David's shoulder. The other boy backed away from Sora's weapon and took a step towards Sora's left, the brunette's eyes following him as he carried through the movement of his weapon. David's sword stabbed out towards Sora and the Keyblade Master took a continuing step back with his right foot as he quickly spun his own blade around to catch and turn away the stab. Sora kept his eyes on David's as his hands manoeuvred on the hilt of his sword, spinning David's weapon around after he caught the blade in his own. It took one quick and full rotation to bat it out of his crimson-haired adversary's hands and once it was clearly out of David's grasp Sora's sword plunged into the air to the left of David's neck.

The boy looked shocked at how swiftly he had been defeated by Sora, and he held up his hands in surrender.

Axel had watched their short bout in its entirety, and then looked away from where the rest of the class was still battling with each other. The only other group that appeared to be done as well was surprisingly that of Kairi and Brittany, Kairi holding her sword level at Brittany's neck in victory.

"Simply amazing Sora," he said. "You took him down in under ten seconds. There aren't really any pointers that one such as me can give to you from that little example, as you made no mistakes, although you might want to try changing the type of guard you use at the start." He turned to look at the other red-head. "But you David, I can say something about you. You went into this battle with good posture and an excellent guard. A high guard is very useful for making the first strike and using the force of gravity to add strength to an attack. However, you were overconfident that it would be over quickly in your favour, judging both from your opening attack and the stab you made towards Sora. Never underestimate an opponent. The same goes for you Sora."

"I already know that," Sora said rolling his eyes as David nodded, listening intently to his teacher. "I'm never going to misjudge a guy who uses a musical instrument as a weapon, or anyone else, again."

"Good," Axel said, nodding, "Because I've already chosen your next opponent."

Sora sighed and looked away. "Who is it? You?"

"I'm not fighting you," Axel said, almost laughing. "You've kicked my ass enough. You'll be going up against her." Sora's eyes followed Axel's pointing finger.

"I'm going to fight Kairi!?" he yelped, looking back at Axel in shock. "You can't be serious!"

"I can and I am," Axel returned, grinning. He looked around; the rest of the class had finished their own sparring matches. "Hey Yuffie, I'm going to pit those two against each other. What do you say?"

"Hm, sounds interesting," Yuffie said, smiling. "The junior hero fighting the princess he's in love with. I wonder who will win."

Sora felt his cheeks grow red in a blush and looked down at his feet. "Come on guys, cut it out already."

"Alright snots, pay attention now," Axel said commandingly as Kairi slowly shuffled her way next to Sora. "You're all going to go into the bleachers there and watch these two duke it out, and after them we're going to critique them as a class, after that, we'll be pairing each of you up in turn and going through the same process, got it memorized? Watch them, observe them, try and catch mistakes they might make, and most importantly of all, pay attention to them!"

"You just might learn something," Yuffie said. "Okay everyone, into the bleachers. We've gotta give these guys all the room they need." The class all moved into the bleachers with Axel, while Yuffie stayed standing with Sora and Kairi. "Are you two ready?" the eighteen-year-old kunoichi asked them anxiously. "I know that we're kinda putting both of you on the spot."

"At least I'll be able to show Sora that I shouldn't be left behind again," Kairi sighed. "I can fight and I will fight."

"What is going on Yuffie?" Sora asked quietly. "Why did King Mickey send you and Axel? What are the Heartless up to? What's happening out there?"

Yuffie grimaced and let a distinctive sigh out through her nose. "We'll tell you after class when the others can't listen in. Now are you both ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Sora said dismally. He didn't like that he was fighting Kairi. It wasn't just that he was in love with her, it was also that Kairi was a woman that he did not dislike with every fibre of his being (the princess part didn't even enter his mind), and therefore was beyond his capability as a male to intentionally injure.

Yuffie apparently saw this and clapped his shoulder. "Pretend that it's me in the tournaments at Olympus Coliseum. Don't hold back, either of you. We want your classmates to learn something from this, and maybe you'll learn something from each other too."

Sora looked at Yuffie for a few seconds before smiling and nodding. "Alright Miss Kisaragi."

"Hey you remembered."

"You ready Kairi?" Sora asked, looking towards her and getting into his stance. Kairi adopted her own stance, holding her sword out in front of her in a low guard with the blade pointed up.

"Let's do it," she said, a small smile working its way onto her face.

"Then BEGIN!" Yuffie cheered. The young kunoichi sprang over both of them with her powerful legs and tucked into a triple somersault before coming out and twisting to land on the second bench of the bleachers, facing the two combatants.

"You're a show-off Miss Yuffie!" Kairi said, glancing at the older young woman out of the corner of her eye.

"Then show off for me," Sora told her, removing his left hand from his wooden weapon and taking a couple of steps towards Kairi. "Convince me." He smiled at the look that Kairi gave him and he slashed his sword down towards Kairi's head. She backed up a step and angled her arms to have her wooden blade block the strike as it came down. Sora jerked it back as it landed on her weapon and stabbed it out towards Kairi. The girl danced off to his left and began to swing her blade down towards his side. Sora turned around and caught the weapon with his own falling blade, which he had added his left hand to again, forcing it down to the ground.

Kairi pulled her sword out of the lock Sora had put it in and brought it back behind her shoulder quickly before slashing down at Sora's midriff. He picked up his own sword and parried the blow with a slice directed towards Kairi's chest, just the opposite side. Both swords caught each other in the middle and pressed against the other as each combatant pushed on the other.

"You're better than I thought you'd be," Sora said, smiling. "I thought that you might be out already."

Kairi giggled slightly. "I told you that I trained while you were away."

"Maybe, but can you beat me?" Sora asked. He suddenly gave a much stronger push against Kairi's blade and her eyes widened before she disengaged, leaping backwards. Sora rushed after her as Kairi landed again and came in low, making a cut for her legs. Kairi leapt back again, higher into the air this time, and Sora surprised her for the second time that day when he jumped many feet into the air after her. He slashed his sword down to Kairi's head and she raised her wooden blade up to block it. Sora didn't cease his slash even with the resistance Kairi put up against him, and forced Kairi to go down to the ground. She landed with her legs and left arm spread out to give her stability, her sword held out behind her in a single hand. Sora dropped down after her, and quickly moved his sword in front of him to parry a strike Kairi was trying to make against him while he was still airborne. Kairi dashed off to the side as he came down and slashed towards her side.

"Fire," Sora said, pointing his wooden weapon at Kairi. He saw her blue eyes open wide in surprise as the blazing projectile streaked towards her head, and Kairi ducked underneath it. Sora opened his eyes wider as Kairi rushed towards him, maintaining her low bearing, and began to slash and stab towards him from her crouched position. Sora backed away from Kairi's persistent attacks, weaving his sword in and out of her moves to continually deny her from striking him.

Axel, Yuffie, and the class watched with fascination as Sora and Kairi battled their way across the training gym floor for many minutes. Both of their wooden weapons crossed paths, blocking and parrying the other almost as much as the opposing teenager ducked, twisted or leapt out of the way. But it was clear throughout that Kairi was on the defensive while Sora only suffered from momentary lapses of maintaining his attack. Occasionally he would let a spell fly out towards Kairi in the form of a fireball or a blast of ice, and Kairi would dance away on nimble feet.

Sora jumped off to the side as Kairi slashed down towards him. He twisted in the air and had his feet connect with the wall to his right. Kairi looked up at him and Sora sprang off of the wall towards her. He raised his weapon over his head and brought it down towards Kairi, straining his muscles in an effort to end it. Kairi intercepted it with a slash of her own, and Sora was surprised for a second as she held him steady in the air for a few seconds before turning him away.

He stumbled slightly on his landing and quickly slapped away a half-hearted strike from Kairi. "Who taught you how to fight like this?" he asked, internally amazed as they began to trade quick blows with one another.

"Oh, here and there," Kairi replied with a wry smile, leaping to her right to avoid Sora's blade as it came towards her left side.

"Really?" Sora asked, drawing the word out before he twitched his head underneath Kairi's weapon as it soared towards his face. "Fine then, don't tell me."

Kairi back flipped away from Sora's retaliatory slash and brought her sword down to keep Sora's rising weapon away from her chin. "Alright then, I won't. But it won't change the fact that I _can_ fight now Sora. I didn't want to be left behind again, or to get in your way."

Sora paused for a second as he held his sword over Kairi's, pressing down against her. Her arms were straining to hold his weapon off of her; to keep it from turning her own blade back into her shoulder. Kairi seemed to notice the lack of pressure against her and she stopped straining to push back against Sora. He lifted his sword off of hers and both their weapons dropped to their sides.

"Sorry I said that Kairi," Sora apologized. "I didn't know you'd take it to heart like that."

"It's okay Sora," Kairi said. "If it's any consolation, I did have to work hard through my training last year; I couldn't slack off."

Sora shook his head. "The worlds didn't let me slack off either. I wanted to come back so much, but I knew that I couldn't, and Donald wouldn't have let me even if I tried."

Kairi sighed and nodded her head. They were both quiet for a few seconds, not noticing the whispered questions from their classmates in the stands if the match was over.

"Sora?"

"Hm?" He looked up at Kairi and found her smiling weakly at him, her right hand clenching tightly against the hilt of her sword. She was panting some, and sweating a bit, definite signs of fatigue on her body.

"Could you, not hold back anymore?" she asked. "I want to see... I want to see how you really fight when you want to win."

Sora smiled slightly and sighed again. "We're at a stalemate Kairi. You want me to fight my hardest, and I don't want to hurt you."

"Sora even if you do accidentally hit me with your sword, you could never hurt me as long as you follow your heart."

Sora smiled a little bit wider. "Alright. You want to see the way I truly fight? Then get ready Kairi, because here I come!" Sora sprang towards Kairi, his legs crouching for the blink of an eye before powerfully propelling him forwards. He could see Kairi reacting in shock at the speed to which he was advancing towards her, his weapon diving straight for her chest. Kairi turned away to the side, but Sora gripped the wooden gymnasium floor with his sneakers and came to a stop, forcing his body to change direction to face Kairi. He swiftly brought his sword up and batted away Kairi's weak counter before planting one hand on the ground. He twirled out with his legs and kicked Kairi's feet out from under her. Sora somersaulted in the air as Kairi fell and sprang onto his feet, rooting them to the spot as he stood up. His blade twirled on his shoulders and around his body before he grasped it again and arched its point to hover an inch away from Kairi's throat.

"That was fast," Kairi gulped. "But you and Riku are out of your league, you wouldn't even land a hit against Garda. But I'm not the Chief Guardian either." Kairi kicked Sora's shin with her left foot and he lost his focus for a second. She rolled underneath the point of Sora's blade while he was distracted and rose. Sora flashed his sword out towards her, and the auburn-haired princess was just able to keep it off of her with her own sword held out between them. Sora hopped backwards as her sword slashed out for his ribs and raised his own to parry an almost instantaneous second strike of Kairi's as she brought it up with both hands and it descended for his head.

Sora flicked his wrist after their blades recoiled and his sword came down towards Kairi's left arm. She ducked and twisted her body away from his strike, ducking again as it soared towards her head. "No, you aren't," Sora said, smiling at the challenge she was presenting him as Kairi spun around and held her sword down vertically to block one more of his attacks, "you're a Princess!" Kairi's eyes flashed a little and Sora leapt back as she pushed against his sword, holding his weapon out to his right, leaving him open. Kairi ran towards him, lunging out with her sword an instant later. Sora saw her eyes widen as he dodged to the side, fast enough that she could barely see his movement and such a short distance that she missed. His feet left the ground as the Keyblade Master jumped onto the flat of her blade. He could feel Kairi leaning forward by the sudden additional weight, and Sora pushed down on the sword even more and leapt off of it to soar over Kairi's head. His blade flashed out as he turned around on his landing and lightly tapped Kairi on the side.

"Point!" Axel declared.

Sora smiled as Kairi looked behind her with a shocked expression at how quickly he had executed the finishing blow. "But you convinced me well enough, Kai," said he. "You can come with if we get called away."

He nearly laughed at the ecstatic look on Kairi's face as she 'whooped' and dropped her sword, suddenly enveloping him in a hug. Sora was a little shocked at first and his own wooden sword dropped from his limp and startled fingers before he accepted Kairi into his arms. "You're a little excited to have just been told that you can come with us to face hordes of creatures that want to rip out your heart, Princess," Sora told her, smiling slightly.

Kairi's smile was still as wide a second later when she pulled back to look at his face. Her face was positively beaming in happiness, just why Sora could only partially understand until she spoke. "Please stop calling me that," ordered Kairi, her voice sweet and not at all commanding, "and it's because I get to go out and fight them with you," she finished, still smiling so broadly that he thought that her face had to be breaking from the size of the smile. Seeing her white teeth and expansive glee was too much for Sora not to smile as widely as possible as well. Suddenly, and for only an instant, he saw Kairi bite her bottom lip through the smile.

She surprised him again when, for the briefest of moments, her lips had cleared the short gap between them and dropped a kiss directly upon his lips. It lasted only a second, just long enough for it to register in Sora's and Roxas' stunned brain that Kairi was kissing him, and by that time Kairi had retreated away a couple of steps, her face a very vibrant shade of pink.

She was speaking to him, but his mind could barely comprehend the words as electricity seemed to jolt all through his body and his own lips began to vibrate and move forward; dumb to all reason, they were trying to kiss the pink lips that tasted slightly like strawberry chap stick that were no longer there. His ears were on fire, his heart racing faster than an eagle in a dive, and Sora could feel his face heating up as the red-headed princess' shy words reached his ears. "That was just a preview," said a coy Kairi, shuffling her feet and looking down, appearing to try and hide her pink and smiling face behind her red hair, "for when you get the courage to kiss me yourself."

"Hey, you two!"

Sora looked up and the blush he was getting from the realization that Kairi, the one and only _Kairi_, had kissed him properly only deepened when he saw that Axel was standing between both of them, a queerly emotionless expression on his face. "If you've got romantic delusions and issues with each other, Princess, Roxas, keep them to yourselves until after class. Got it memorized?"

"Roxas doesn't have any romances with Kairi," Sora groaned, looking at Axel. "He's got ones with Naminé."

There came a sudden maniac gleam in Axel's teal eyes and he held his hands out to his sides slightly. Yellow fire began to curl in his palms and spinning red and white chakrams with their eight points slowly began to appear from within the searing heat. "Was that backtalk?" he asked, his hands snapping onto the black grips of his weapons.

Sora looked down at the wooden weapons he and Kairi had dropped on the ground, gulped, and looked back at Axel. "I'm sorry Axel."

Axel slung the right one up by his head and smiled, holding the left one idly by his side. "Good. Now that we've got _that_ sorted out, would anyone like to make any comments on Sora's and Kairi's duel?"

Kairi slowly shuffled up to stand next to Sora, and he kept his eyes averted of hers, realizing for the first time that he hadn't had his back turned to the class when Kairi had kissed him, he had been able to see the bleachers out of the corner of his right eye, which meant that the twelve other young adults had had a perfect front row seat to observe the first 'proper' kiss (however brief and one-sided) either one of them had initiated on the other, free of charge. Thinking of that, Sora kept his eyes down on his shoes and ridiculously high socks.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Yuffie's voice sounded loudly from behind him, one of her hands clapping him on his left shoulder suddenly. "And keep the mention of their PDAs out please!" Her voice then lowered into a hushed whisper and Sora realized as he looked at her that she had also grabbed Kairi's right shoulder as well. "Congrats you two," continued Yuffie, "in more ways than one. We're going to shove the pair of you in the simulator tomorrow." Yuffie pulled her head back and Sora found his cerulean eyes drawn to Kairi's indigo ones. They met for a second before he blushed shyly and looked away.

In truth, his mood was hovering somewhere in the pink haze on Cloud Nine. There wasn't a single butterfly in his stomach, as if some psychotic hunter who only preyed on the butterflies of nerves had taken up residence there and shot them all down with a shotgun.

He dropped down slightly from Cloud Nine when someone from the class, the five-foot-seven black-haired boy with a mushroom cut and a rounder and slightly squatter nose Alfred, began to speak. "Well, I don't know if I can critique much, but I _did_ notice that Sora's style seemed to be more straightforwardly aggressive and reckless while Kairi was a bit more... I don't know, elegant and dancing on her feet."

"Yeah," Tidus put in, "but I wouldn't say that Sora was a bit more reckless. When he opened himself up in any way it almost looked like he was doing it on purpose to invite a counter from Kairi; and when she did he was always ready for it."

Selphie shook her head. "But it was never really a fair fight was it? As good as Kairi showed herself to be while she worked her hardest throughout the whole thing, Sora just seemed to be comfortably going the whole time until his face got really serious in that last minute."

"Sora even put in some time to show off too," Yuffie put her two cents in to the class, "didn't he?" There were general nods and mutterings of agreement.

"I think he has a right to show off," Val said. "He's clearly outclassed the rest of us. But Kairi's still right; I've seen Garda fight and Sora may not even land a hit on him, but that's a maybe."

"But if he's so good," Brittany began, looking at Axel, "why did you have him fight Kairi?"

Axel chuckled slightly. "Brittany, you lost to Kairi in the span of eleven seconds; Sora defeated David in eight. Theirs and the one between Selphie and Kia were the only ones that were over too quickly to get an accurate reading of just how good they were, since they could have been flukes."

"But you both knew how good Sora was didn't you?" Yumi asked, looking between Axel and Sora. "The four of you, you all knew? And you wanted to show us, right?"

"Well I didn't know just how well Sora could fight," Kairi said, looking at Yumi before glancing at Sora for a second.

"And I didn't know that Kairi'd improved so much," Sora answered, "so it came as a surprise to me when she was able to keep up with me while I was in a comfortable rhythm. But then again, she did make it into Advanced so I should've been expecting it."

"Actually it was a little comfortable for me too," Kairi said, looking directly at Sora now, the kiss apparently out of her mind as they examined their duel. "There kinda was a pattern, it was just... hard. You threw surprises in there often enough to keep me guessing and on my toes, so I was never able to get really comfortable until we were near the end there."

Sora shrugged. "You'll get better, and you threw one or two surprises my way too. The sword is a little light though; not as heavy as what I'm used to."

"And what are you used to?" Kia asked, leaning forward.

Sora glanced at Axel and Yuffie, and when neither of them made any indication that he shouldn't (in fact their eyes almost seemed to be encouraging him), he stuck out his hand and said, "This."

The space in front of his hand flashed suddenly with bright light, and then it became replaced by a solid object held in Sora's right hand. A sword that was as dark as the night, a heavy dark chain running down the length of the blade from the hilt until where it connected to an intricate silver arrow, resting beside a protruding formation of black steel that resembled some kind of symbol. The hilt of the blade looked like the wings of a bat, connecting with the tang with an amethyst stone in the shape of a diamond. Its grip was grey, and connecting to the pommel was a keychain that ended in a black three-pointed crown pendant.

It was the Oblivion Keyblade, the keychain given to Sora by his best friend Riku, taking a dark shape to resemble the darkness that Riku had at first fallen into. Apart from the Oathkeeper, which had been created through the lucky charm of Kairi's made out of thalassa shells, this Keyblade and the Kingdom Key were the choices of Keyblade he used most often, the ones that most resonated within his heart as the shape he should give the legendary weapon that had chosen him as its Chosen Master.

The twelve other students looked at the weapon in complete awe for a few seconds before one of them stood up. It was Tidus. Sora watched his friend slowly come down from the bleachers towards him, the blonde's eyes fixed entirely upon the weapon resting easily in Sora's right hand. When he reached Sora, he continued to look at the Keyblade for another second or so before he drew his eyes up to Sora and smiled at him.

"Crazy stuff huh?" he asked, folding his arms and grinning. "What all really happened the year you were gone?"

Sora laughed and the Oblivion vanished from his hand as he placed both of them behind his head. "The Islands had its heart taken by darkness and our world was destroyed. Kairi, Riku, and I made it off in various states, but we all managed, in the end, to find each other. I defeated a powerful, evil Heartless of a man named 'Xehanort' who was going by the name 'Ansem, Seeker of Darkness' with the help of Donald and Goofy, the duck and dog I mentioned. Then I left Kairi here on the Islands when the world was re-made and went with Donald and Goofy to look for Riku and King Mickey. We stumbled into a castle that messed with our memories, met Axel here, beat his boss Marluxia, then went to sleep for a year to regain our memories. We woke up a few months ago in a place called Twilight Town and started searching for Riku again. Then we found out that we had to take out a bunch of powerful Nobodies called 'Organization XIII', and that they had kidnapped Kairi. Finally about a week ago, I was able to become reunited with both Kairi and Riku in The World That Never Was and beat the last members and The Superior of Organization XIII, a guy named Xemnas, who was the Nobody of Xehanort, the Heartless of whom we beat last year to bring the Islands back."

Tidus smiled while Sora did his little sum-up and was politely shaking his head through his smile the whole time. "That went _way_ over my head dude," he said at the end, still shaking his head. "Could you give me the simple English version?"

Kairi giggled. "How about this: Sora's the Chosen Master of the Keyblade. Riku, the mouse king, King Mickey, and I also wield Keyblades, and I'm a Princess of another world and a Princess of Heart, meaning that my heart has no darkness, only light. We're the good guys, and we (meaning Sora and Riku since I didn't do much of _anything!_) beat the bad guys."

"That's _much_ easier to understand," Tidus said, still smiling and nodding. "Thanks Kai, or _Princess Kairi_." He bowed and Kairi grimaced. She slapped the top of his blonde head, ruffling the short blonde spikes.

"No bowing," she said sternly, pouting and folding her arms while turning her head to the side. "I may be a princess, but I'm a regular girl too you know; and I want to be treated as such, at least, right now I still do."

"Are there any other comments anyone would like to make on the duel between Sora and Kairi?" Yuffie asked, directing the question towards the class.

"Were you guys really just testing Kairi?" David asked.

"Yes," Axel said. "And congratulations, you've just volunteered to go next against Tidus. Sora, Kairi, back to the bleachers. And no snogging each other!" David grumbled and made his way past Sora as he led both himself and Kairi back up to the raised steel benches. His face was glowing red from Axel's last teasing comment, and he assumed that Kairi's was too. When he finally reached a spot and sat down, Sora found that Selphie and a couple of the other girls had waylaid Kairi, and that she had buried her head in her hands.

Sora glanced at some of the other guys and the girls that hadn't jumped Kairi, and they just looked at him with smirks on their faces. "Way to go lover boy," said Yumi.

"Enough, alright?" Sora muttered, his face retaining its pink colour.

The rest of the block passed in a somewhat normal manner. Two students would go in front of the others and duel each other, receiving comments from Yuffie and Axel during their sparring, as well as the rest of the class when they were finished. The duels were never as long as the one that had occurred between Sora and Kairi, which had lasted a full eighteen minutes before Sora ended it, but David and Tidus did have the second longest bout at half the time before Tidus claimed the victory. Except, all the other duels went until one person claimed three points. Sora had a tiny theory in his head that because he and Kairi were going for so long that it ended up being first-point victor.

Sora smiled as he watched both David and Tidus battle against each other. He had no idea that Tidus had improved so much since he'd been gone, and David was remarkably skilled as well. Many other people in the class, such as Yumi, Val, and John were also decent, and the battle between Yumi's two knives and Val's long staff was exciting to watch, and an interesting dynamic to their fight was the friendly competitive edge since they were twins. Sora felt confident that his peers would do well if they ever did become Guardians to defend the people and property of the Destiny Islands from fiends.

Sora summoned the Oblivion into his hand again and looked at it as Kia paired up with Alyssa. As for him, he was no longer sure just where his path would take him. Ever since the Keyblade had appeared in his hands and the Islands fell into darkness his life had been thrown a curveball that turned his world upside down. For him, for Riku, and for Kairi, their lives had been changed completely, and the sparring match that he and Kairi had as well as the fact that he was in a class being taught by Yuffie Kisaragi and Axel proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that his former definition of normal was no more. The black weapon in his hand was more than enough proof of that.

_Don't worry about it so much,_ Roxas said. _We're still just kids; the future can wait until later._

The Oblivion vanished in a shimmer of white sparkles and Sora smiled slightly. _Right, it can wait. We still don't know if we have to leave at all._

An arrow whizzed out of Kia's bow towards Alyssa, and it just missed to the side of her left arm as the violet-haired girl quickly dove to the side. Kia quickly grabbed another blunt practice arrow out of the quiver that was slung to her back and frantically nocked it in her bow as Alyssa recovered and closed the gap between them. The bow became taught as Kia drew the arrow back and pointed it right at Alyssa's chest just as the sword that the girl held slipped past the slender frame of the bow and approached Kia's own torso before stopping an inch away.

"Stalemate," Yuffie declared, ending it. "Any comments?"

A few hands shot up, but at that moment the bell rang and more than a few groans came from the dozen in the bleachers.

"Get outta here you lot," Axel said casually, jerking his thumb towards the double doors. "We'll see you tomorrow, and I expect to see _all_ of you here tomorrow, so commit the fact that you're in my class to memory. Because if you miss even one, you'll find out just what it is feels like to be a boiled egg."

"Don't mind him," Yuffie laughed, seeing the nervous looks on the faces of the fourteen. "We'll be in here again tomorrow; prepare for a drills class."

More groans came from the class, this time from every last one of them. Drills were essential, and they were worthwhile to do, but they were always so repetitive and slow that it bored them to tears.

They all began to move towards the doors when the roar of fire suddenly pounded into their ears as a small wall of flames surrounded both Sora and Kairi in a circle that was just barely big enough to give them a little breathing room.

"What the—?" Sora asked, surprised but not showing it as he grasped the startled red-head next to him and brought her closer in a one-armed hug to keep her away from the flames. The fire's heat was intense against his body, and he was already having a little bit of trouble breathing as the fire took in the oxygen in the surrounding air.

"You both aren't going anywhere," Axel said calmly as a couple of remaining students looked at him in shock. "The four of us need to have a talk. Make that five. Yuffie, can you go find Riku?"

"Right-o!" Yuffie said, giving him a mock salute. She dashed towards the doors, pulling Tidus and Selphie along with her before they closed with a very loud clatter, leaving the Keyblade Master and Princess of Heart alone with Axel.

-A-D-

"Miss Yuffie, what are you doing?" asked Selphie incredulously as the doors closed behind the three youths.

"Shouldn't we go back there?" Tidus asked, glancing behind them as Yuffie continued to drag both him and Selphie away from the training gymnasium doors. "What if something happens to them?"

Yuffie smiled slightly. "Oh, Axel's not going to do anything to either Sora or Kairi. And even if he was going to try something, Sora'd kick his butt into next week."

"So what do we do?" Selphie said, looking at her teacher with uncertainty.

"All we're doing is having an after-class chat with them," Yuffie explained simply, taking a left and scanning the crowd in the main entranceway and indoor eating area. "Don't teachers normally do stuff like that?"

"Well... yeah," Tidus answered lamely. "But, we were all going to go out after school."

"Axel and I won't keep them long," Yuffie assured him, her dark brown eyes still scanning the crowd. She'd been sure that she'd be able to spot him easily, since her quarry was apparently tall with silverish hair. "Now where is Riku?"

"I think he had a spare in fourth block," Selphie answered slowly. "At least that's what he said at lunch before his fans showed up. So, he could have already left."

"Well that just won't do," Yuffie muttered. "He needs to be here or else he's gonna wish that he was. Wait! Is that him?"

"Where?" Tidus asked quickly, stepping up beside her and peering into the mass of students.

"There," Yuffie pointed, "next to the tall blonde guy and the one with the mountain of orange hair."

"Yep, that's him," confirmed Tidus after a moment's pause.

Yuffie smiled. "Thank you Tidus," she said happily, looking towards him. She made a move akin to a mock salute before she leapt high above the crowd. Several students stopped and stared at her as the eighteen year old kunoichi performed an aerial somersault before spreading out and landing directly in front of Riku, the blonde, and the orange. The three of them stopped and stared at her.

Yuffie straightened up and got a good look at the boy. The sleeves of his uniform shirt were rolled up, revealing muscular arms that were slightly tanned. The boy's long hair was off-silver, looking like a weird shade between the colours of silver, blue, and lilac, and he was already nearly six feet tall, which forced Yuffie to tilt her head up to look him in the eyes. Speaking of those, she saw that underneath the longs bangs that slightly obscured his quite handsome face, they were a bright aqua colour. She stared into them as those two round sea-coloured orbs looked back at her in curiosity. They were almost entrancing.

"Uh, can I help you?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Yuffie answered, peering at him. "You are Riku, right?"

He nodded his head slowly, "Yes…"

"Good," Yuffie said brightly. She grabbed his arm suddenly. "You're coming with me."

Yuffie smiled at Riku's surprised face by her abrupt action, but he could barely open his mouth to say anything against it before her left hand had already completed the movements for the ninjitsu that would create a cloud of black smoke into which she and whatever was attached to her (which at this moment was the sixteen year old Riku), would vanish before almost instantly reappearing in another cloud of smoke in any location within a fifteen metre radius that Yuffie wished.

They came out of another cloud of dark smoke in the exact spot where Yuffie had jumped to Riku's location from, and the young woman tugged on the arm of the much larger, stronger, and heavier teenager in the direction she wanted him to go. She glanced at Tidus and Selphie.

"Thanks for your assistance you two, see you in class tomorrow." Yuffie then turned her head to Riku. "Come on Riku," she said in a voice slightly above a whisper, forcing him to lean closer to listen, "you and I need to have a little chat with your love-struck Keyblade Wielding buddies."

Riku gasped and consented himself to be led away from his friends and the mass of students, more than a few confused at the suddenness of the ninja showing up and stealing a student in the style she had done it in. "You're one of Mickey's representatives?"

Yuffie smiled unseen to him and nodded her raven-clad head. "Yep," she answered. "And I've also landed a spot here as a teacher to Sora and Kairi's Combat Mastery Advanced class. I think King Mickey yanked a few strings to get it to happen. By the way, any guesses as to who I am?"

Riku was silent behind her for a couple of seconds. "Sora talked about you for a bit. You're that ninja from Radiant Garden right? The Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi?"

"One point for Riku," Yuffie said, smirking as she glanced back at him. "I guess that you're the smart one between you and Sora."

"Sora's smart enough when he wants to be," Riku answered with a shrug. "He just doesn't use his head as much as his heart. He's got me beat there," he added with a slight chuckle.

Yuffie stopped at the main entrance to the training gymnasium and pulled open the left of the two doors. As soon as she did her ears were welcomed by the sound of laughter. She peered in out of curiosity and saw Axel sitting on the front row of the bleachers. Sitting next to him were two transparent figures: one male, and one female. Both of them were blonde, and looked to be in their mid-teens, and they bore a resemblance to Sora and Kairi, and they were both dressed in the school's uniform. Even though they were transparent, Yuffie could easily see that the regulation dress code suited the female blonde, while the male had his tie hanging around his shoulders with his top button undone. The female transparent teenager was laughing, and Axel and the male were both smiling humourously at her. Sora and Kairi were sitting together two levels up and a couple of meters to the right of the threesome on the front row, and they were both leaning back slightly while glancing at the three down below them.

"Hey everyone!" the raven-haired teenager called, striding back into the room, "I found him!"

The five that were sitting down on the bleachers looked towards the doors where she had just entered with Riku. It took a few seconds for the transparent female blonde to stop laughing, but when she did she also directed her attention towards Yuffie and the Grade Twelve student behind her.

Yuffie turned her head quickly as the sound of the door closing and Riku's voice drummed into her ears from behind her, surprised and confused while gelled together in a hostile tone. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked, the unmistakable sound of his Keyblade appearing in his hand ringing through the training gymnasium. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"A simple 'hello' would have been nice Riku," Axel answered calmly. "And I thought that His Majesty said in his letter that you were to 'treat his representatives as you would treat him'? So, you've got to respect me as you would respect the King, got it memorized?"

"You mean to say that you're Mickey's other representative?" Riku asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"That's right," Yuffie answered for Axel. "Now why don't you go and sit next to Sora and Kairi and we can get started?" She smiled as she watched Riku glance at her curiously before dismissing his weapon and walking past her.

"Hey Riku," Sora said, waving at him as Riku quickly ascended the few stairs he needed to climb to reach the brunette and redhead. "Don't you have a fourth block spare?"

"Yeah," he answered, sitting down.

"Then why were you still here at school?" Kairi asked in interest. "I would have thought that you'd have booked it out of here as soon as you could to avoid all the elevens and tens that would have chased you after school. Or is there a girl you were waiting for?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "No, Kairi there isn't a girl; if you must pry, I was in the greenhouse."

Yuffie had been listening in to the conversation and placed her booted right foot on the footrest at the front of the first row of the bleachers, directly next to the body of the transparent blonde boy sitting on Axel's right. "But you've got clean hands."

"I washed them," Riku answered, as if it was obvious.

"Then why's your shirt still as white as your hair?" the blonde boy asked.

"So how do you and Naminé like the uniforms Roxas?" Riku fired back casually. "I know that it doesn't really fit your hairstyle, since they can't make a shirt look like a hornet's nest."

"Bite me Riku," Roxas muttered, audible enough for Yuffie to still hear him.

The girl, Naminé, frowned at both Roxas and Riku for a second before looking herself over as best as she could. She didn't seem quite sure of herself, so Yuffie decided to give the transparent girl a bit of encouragement. "I think it looks nice on you Naminé," she said, startling the blonde.

Naminé's cheeks gained a slight tinge of embarrassed pink and she turned her head shyly away from Yuffie. "Really? I thought I looked okay, but I wasn't quite sure."

"Don't worry about it Naminé," Kairi said, leaning a little further towards the blonde, "you look great."

"Yeah," Axel added, "you don't look half bad for an astral projection."

Naminé smiled genuinely and looked enquiringly towards Roxas, who chuckled slightly and rubbed the back of his head while nodding it. She giggled. "Thanks guys."

"Anytime," Axel said nonchalantly. He heaved himself off of the bleachers with a sigh and turned around, stretching his arms behind his back. "So what do you say we get this little chit-chat started, huh?"

"I'll say," Roxas said before anyone else could, "I want to know how you're alive again."

Yuffie looked at Axel as he sighed again and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not completely sure myself Roxas," he answered. "I won't say I know exactly how I came back, but from what I was told by Master Yen Sid after I found myself alive again, this is what I know: When I was helping you, Sora, and I put everything I had into that attack and faded away, it turned out that only my body had given out on me, and not my soul. My mind wandered through darkness for I don't know how long, until I saw a bright speck of light that I was able to go towards. The light engulfed me, and the next thing I knew, I was standing on the Station Plaza in Twilight Town, and Yen Sid showed up only a couple of minutes later. According to him, I was the only member of the Organization apart from you, Roxas, who had not had their both their body and soul destroyed before all the hearts were released from Kingdom Hearts. The light that I saw was the light in my own heart, and my heart and soul worked together to recreate my body. King Mickey came by only a few days later, and Yen Sid advised me to work for him, now that Xemnas was out of the way. I didn't want to at first, but then he gave me a very good reason to do it."

"And what was that?" Riku asked, his voice showing that he was easing up slightly now that Master Yen Sid apparently trusted Axel.

Axel smiled, "I would get to be with my best friend again, got it memorized? But little did I know that his Somebody would be _kissing up_ to the Princess."

Yuffie's eyes went straight to Riku's stunned face at Axel's words, and she began to laugh at the shade of crimson both the Keyblade Master's and Princess of Heart's faces were quickly becoming. "I thought you were the one who'd have it memorized Axel, it was Kairi that kissed Sora!"

Riku folded his arms. "Maybe I shouldn't have gone to the greenhouse and come here instead to watch the class. Sounds like it was interesting..."

"It was," Kairi said in a low voice, still unable to meet eyes with anyone, not even her Nobody. "Sora agreed that I could come with the two of you if you get called away again."

"Sora..."

"It wasn't because Kairi kissed me!" Sora answered loudly with a glowing face as he brought his eyes up to look at Riku. "It's because she's much better at fighting than we thought she was Riku! Kairi kept up with me."

Riku's head sharply went about to stare at his best female friend in amazement. "Whoa, have my ears just stopped working right, or did Sora say that—"

"Yes, I was able to keep up with him Riku," Kairi answered in a forced normal tone of voice, evidently still embarrassed about one of her best friends finding out that she'd kissed her other best friend. "I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

"Anyway..." Axel began with enough volume to draw their attentions back towards him and Yuffie, "we have to start discussing the big reason why the King sent me and Yuffie here, so all eyes on me."

Sora smirked and began to speak in a loud, militaristic tone of voice as he spoke each word like it was its own sentence. "You have our undivided attention, Axel-sensei!"

"Did I tell you that you could call me that?"

"No."

"Then stay quiet and keep sitting, or else I'll set your hair on fire."

"Don't do that!" Kairi said quickly and earnestly, one of her hands suddenly leaping onto Sora's head. Her fingers began to curl into the spikes. "I like his hair," she said quietly as Sora gave a soft sigh of contentment at the feel of Kairi's fingers.

"Alright fine, I won't," Axel said dismissively. "Count yourself lucky that the Princess likes you so much Roxas."

"I'm down here," Roxas said, pointing, "not up there."

"And I'm glad that you're here and not there," Naminé said, shifting into the spot that Axel had vacated so that she was closer to him.

"HEARTLESS!!" Yuffie yelled suddenly, pointing. In a flash, Way to the Dawn and Oblivion appeared within Riku's and Sora's hands and serious looks overcame each and every one of them. Yuffie smiled. "Thank you," she said. "There aren't actually any Heartless, but now that I have your attention, we can get started."

"Finally," Riku muttered under his breath, giving Yuffie a tiny smile as he dismissed his weapon. His smile slipped off of his face. "So what was it that Mickey said we'd forgotten?"

"Maleficent," Axel answered.

-A-D-

_I think this explains Kairi's fighting abilities better than last time around. It's one thing to try and train by yourself against foes that only appear in your mind, it's entirely another to train by fighting another._

_If you are so inclined, leave me a review._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	6. Man to Man

_I'd have to say that this chapter is where the re-write very truly veers off-course from the original, as a returning reader will be able to tell quite clearly. I now that personally I like the direction that I am taking now more than that which I took back then, but it's up to you guys to decide if you like this._

_Olympic Update! Canada vs USA in the round robin for Men's Hockey is on right now. Can't talk, too excited! **GO CANADA GO!**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or anything else associated with this story except for OCs._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter VI: Man to Man

Sora's blood chilled for a mere second at the mention of the sorceress' name before it became hot and he repeated it in a low, questioning growl. "Maleficent?" A cackle stole through his ears and her face with its clammy grey-green skin and pointed black horns rising above her ead filled his mind. "What about her?" he asked.

"She died fighting the Heartless in that castle, right?" Kairi asked, rubbing a hand down her bare arm, which Sora noticed had goose bumps on it. "Her and Pete, right?"

"Well we thought so," Yuffie explained with a grim sigh. "But apparently King Mickey saw a star vanish a few nights ago, and Pete's son PJ—don't worry he's on our side!" she added hastily, seeing the looks on Sora's and Riku's faces, "went missing the same night. The first place he checked was Xemnas' old castle, and sure enough—"

"The witch was there," Axel continued. "The King was able to meet with PJ, who Pete inducted into her tiny group of cronies, and set him up as a spy. So we know what she's up to, got it memorized?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Riku broke it. "So what is the old hag planning?"

"She wants Kingdom Hearts," Yuffie began.

"Like that's a big surprise," Sora chuckled.

"And so, she wants the Princesses of Heart," continued Yuffie as if there had been no interruption.

"In other words," Axel said, "she wants you Kairi."

All eyes turned to look at the auburn-haired princess as she stood with a look of shock on her face, mouthing the word, 'Me?'

"And that's why we're here," Axel continued, "to make sure that she doesn't get you."

"The King felt that you could use some help," Yuffie said. "No offence Sora."

Riku spoke before Sora could answer. "He could use help in more areas than just protecting her."

"Like what?" Sora asked indignantly.

"Asking her out," Roxas answered pointedly. Sora felt his cheeks fill with hot blood as he scowled at his Nobody, who had one arm wrapped around Naminé's transparent shoulders.

"You're a hypocrite harpy-breath," Riku said, looking at the blonde.

"Like you can even smell my breath," retorted Roxas, rolling his eyes.

"Like you even have breath."

Naminé placed a sympathetic hand on Roxas' shoulder that was shaking with anger and looked at the smug expression on Riku's face with disapproval.

"Could you lay off my Nobody Riku," Sora said, his frustration and irritation at his best friend's behaviour making it sound more like an order than a question. "I know that he beat you, but I did too and you aren't insulting me every other second."

Riku sighed. "Right, sorry Roxas."

Roxas shrugged. "It's alright Riku."

Yuffie yawned and stretched her arms out behind her head. "Well, that's about the jiffy of why we're here. So unless you lot have homework to do, what do you do for fun around here?"

Sora scratched the back of his head. "Well, we were planning on meeting up with Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka at our favourite ice cream parlour."

"Before Kairi and Sora have to leave so that she can teach him how to tie a tie," Naminé said, smirking slightly.

"In private," Roxas added.

"So you know what that means," Riku continued while Sora's burning face glared at everyone but Kairi, who was looking bashfully at her shoes. "She's going to get them together," the tall twelfth-grader added slowly, circling his two friends with Axel, Yuffie, Roxas, and Naminé, "alone."

"Under the pretence of teaching him how to tie a tie," Naminé continued.

"Then, she'll pounce!" said Roxas, startling Sora for an instant. The brunette couldn't help but notice that the circle was steadily becoming smaller.

"Shove him against the wall," Axel smirked.

"Rough," Yuffie said seductively, drawing out the 'r' and purring at the end.

"Like he likes it," Naminé added.

Sora was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Kairi now, and as the circle's radius kept shrinking he found himself turning towards Kairi. His mind was in overdrive as his imagination took hold of the images he was being provided with.

_I know that you're liking this,_ Roxas said telepathically.

"And kiss him, fiercely," Yuffie said, her eyes widening fractionally at the last word.

"Like a hungry Behemoth," Riku added.

Sora jammed his eyes shut, but it did nothing more than enhance the video playing in his imagination of the scene that they were describing. His lips were tingling as they remembered the brief feel of Kairi's lips against them, and his fingers were itching to grasp and run through her beautiful (and he knew that were beautiful) auburn locks. Desire was nearly driving him wild, and it was taking all of his willpower not to do it right now.

But Kairi deserved better. She had said so herself that she wanted it to be special.

The fantasy ended abruptly as Kairi's voice broke through the haze and into his ears. "And that's enough!" Sora opened his eyes and saw Kairi blushing fiercely. Her hand snatched his up. "Come on Sora, let's get to the others, they're probably wondering where we are by now." They broke through the ring and Roxas and Naminé merged into them as Sora glowed with blue light and Kairi gold for a moment.

"You probably need the ice cream to cool down those faces of yours!" Yuffie laughed. Sora turned around and scowled at her, but he found it more difficult to do so than usual. He glanced down and realized that he and Kairi were holding hands. The boy's cerulean eyes found Kairi's indigo and they released each other at the same time. Riku wolf-whistled.

Kairi stuck her tongue out at him for an instant before saying, "You coming Riku?"

He smiled and nodded. "Sure thing Kai." He started to move to where Sora and Kairi were standing near the door and Sora looked back to Yuffie and Axel.

"Either of you want to come with?" he asked.

Yuffie placed a finger to her chin for a second in thought before smiling brightly and skipping towards them. "Sure thing, I'm always up for ice cream; especially in this heat, no offence."

"What heat?" Kairi asked.

Yuffie shook her head and looked over her shoulder. "How about you Axel?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, I've got work to do. Have to make sure that the simulator works for the Princess and Keyblade Master tomorrow, got it memorized?"

Riku looked at Sora and Kairi with interest. "You both get to go in tomorrow? Whatchya facing?"

"Not a clue," Sora answered, shaking his head and opening the door with one hand, his bag (untouched since the start of the block) over his shoulders. "I guess whatever these two decide to throw at us," he added, inclining his head towards Yuffie and then Axel.

"Which, I think," Kairi began hesitantly, "means that we're screwed."

Axel smiled at them from where he still stood near the bleachers. "See you tomorrow kiddos." Sora smiled back nervously at the look on Axel's face before the door closed behind the four of them.

-A-D-

Several minutes later Sora and Kairi had returned from their lockers on the second floor and met up with Riku and Yuffie as the two waited for them in front of the school. Yuffie had been sitting on a nice stone bench under the shade of a tree near a flowerbed, and she bounced onto her feet next to a standing Riku when she spotted them.

"So where's this ice cream parlour?" she asked, stretching her arms behind her raven-haired head. Yuffie cocked her head at the sight of their backpacks. Sora's looked to be a bit less filled than Kairi's, and Riku's was bulging. "What all's for homework anyway?"

Sora glanced behind him at his pack. "I've got English and Chem to do later."

Kairi sighed slightly. "Same, but I have one more textbook crammed into my backpack because I'm in Advanced Placement. What about you Riku? You never told us what you had this semester."

"Social, Bio, and Math homework," he grumbled. "I already hate my math teacher."

"Then let's drown out that hate with some ice cream," Yuffie said, beaming at him. "Come on, my treat."

Riku smiled down at her. "Alright, if you're the one treating us."

It took them eight minutes to reach The Sweet Shop, the name of the favoured ice cream shop for most people that lived in the area. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie were already waiting for them outside at a table underneath a red and white umbrella. Tidus and Wakka were casually licking the bars they had gotten, while Selphie was attacker her cone with its towering seven scoops of multi-coloured and flavoured ice cream with passion.

Sora was surprised that the sugar-fiend was the first of the three to notice them. First there was a squeal, and then a frenzied and ecstatic shout of, "HEEYYYY!"

Tidus and Wakka looked 'round, smiling when they saw them. "You might want to hurry up yah," Wakka warned. "The line's gotten really long."

"No it hasn't!" Selphie said, smacking the orange-haired senior in the back of the head, while keeping her swaying cone under control. "If it was, then I wouldn't be on my second cone!"

Sora could tell that Yuffie's eyes were bulging in their sockets. "That's your _second_ cone!"

"Better believe it Yuffie," Sora said, dropping his bag off on a chair. "C'mon, let's get in line."

"Have I ever mentioned before," Kairi began slowly after returning, plopping herself down next to Selphie with a strawberry sundae and a red spoon, "that you're a hypocrite Selphie?"

Selphie was down to three scoops now and was licking away happily while she brightly replied, "Yep, a thousand times."

Yuffie sat down next to Kairi with a chocolate fudge ice cream bar, a little perturbed by how much the ice cream had cost her. "Why is she a hypocrite?"

Wakka looked curiously at Yuffie as Sora and Riku sat down as well with a vanilla cone and a banana split, respectively. "And who are you?"

Sora choked slightly on his ice cream. "Oh, sorry, I should have introduced you. Yuffie, this is our friend Wakka; Wakka, this is my friend and one of my Combat Mastery Advanced class' instructors, The Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi."

"We're eating ice cream with a teacher?" Wakka asked incredulously. He glanced at Tidus and Selphie to see them nodding. "Well that's new, yah?"

"Selphie's a hypocrite because she always tells me that I'll get fat eating stuff, and then she goes and inhales five pounds of ice cream," Kairi said, answering Yuffie's previous question before taking a spoonful of her sundae into her eagerly awaiting mouth. "Mmm…"

"It's not my fault that I was blessed with a hyper-active metabolism," Selphie said smugly.

Sora chuckled. "If you were, you'd be eating as much as me. You just have the worlds' biggest sweet-tooth Selph."

She stuck her tongue out at him, which at the moment looked ridiculous because it was bright blue.

-A-D-

Over the next half-hour the seven of them laughed, talked, joked, whined, and complained about their respective first day backs while catching up on all the latest gossip, to which Selphie was tuned to like an aerial. The slightest whisper would start, and before five minutes went by Selphie would know about it, making her a very valuable friend in earlier years when one of them had accidentally and unknowingly done something to upset someone. Selphie had been able to warn them and trouble had been avoided numerous times.

Sora glanced down at his watch and his eyes widened slightly. "Guys, it's almost four-thirty."

Selphie leapt to her feet so quickly it startled him. "Shoot!" she exclaimed, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulders in a blur. "I'm gonna be late for practice! Bye guys!" Without another word or even waiting for the others to say, 'goodbye,' she dashed off down the street.

"Bye Selph!" They still called after her.

"Practice?" Yuffie asked.

"Gymnastics," Tidus answered.

Wakka slowly got to his feet, grumbling, "I've got a load of homework to do. See you tomorrow, yah?"

"Yeah, see you Wakka," Riku said, getting up as well, since everyone else was on their feet.

"We need to go too Sora," Kairi said.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at her quizzically. She grimaced in annoyance and flicked his tie, which he had undone and was slung across his shoulders. Sora blushed, embarrassed that he'd forgotten. "Oh, right."

_Dur… What's this thing around my shoulders again?_

_Shut up Roxas,_ he retorted.

"See you two later then," Tidus said, winking at Sora. "Have fun at your little 'private' lesson."

Sora rolled his eyes and tried not to blush as the imaginative scene came into his mind again. "Whatever Tidus. See you later guys."

"Come on Sora!" Kairi urged, tugging on his arm.

"Ooh, she sound impatient Sora," Yuffie giggled.

"Shut up," Kairi mumbled, steering Sora away from the table and towards the road. Sora eyed Kairi's slightly red face with amusement as they nearly marched along the cobblestone road away from The Sweet Shop. She certainly seemed flustered about the amount of teasing and prodding into their relationship, especially since she had impulsively kissed him after their lengthy sparring match during their class earlier.

"So," he began as they turned south and walked past the park they had eaten ice cream with the King in, "where were you planning on teaching me how to tie this stupid thing?"

"Well…" Kairi started slowly, drawing the word out and lacing a hand through her hair, "I had thought of my house; that way my dad would know what we're doing and that it's completely innocent, because if we were in your house we'd be alone until your mom got home from work. But," Kairi paused uncertainly and Sora looked at her as she stopped a step in front of him and glanced back at his face. "I was wondering, would you like to take a walk along the beach?"

"Actually, the beach and the island would be a good place for me to teach you something," Sora said impulsively.

"Really?" Kairi asked, interested. "What?"

Sora blinked. "Uh, I'll tell you when we get there," he said. Truthfully, Sora had no idea why he had said that he was going to teach Kairi something, or even what he was going to teach her, but he hoped that his quick cover would work and buy him time.

It didn't, though it helped a little. What it did accomplish in the twenty minutes it took them to reach the beach was to instil an unprecedented level of curiosity in his long-time friend, whose incessant nagging about what he was going to be teaching her (since he already knew the subject of her private lesson and it would only be fair to let her know now), was both laughable and prodded Sora's mind (and Roxas') to come up with something.

Sora stopped suddenly just a few feet away from the shore. He looked around. They had gone past the few docks on the western beach at its north end (the main marina was on the south beach, roughly a forty minute walk away), there wasn't anyone even close to being relatively nearby; they were close enough to the play island that the area around them was mostly deserted.

"Here should do," he said. Sora closed his eyes and concentrated hard.

"Here should do for what?" Kairi asked, looking around bemusedly.

Sora grinned momentarily. He startled Kairi by suddenly snapping his arm out and grasping an instantly appearing Oblivion. He spun it around in a circle in front of him three times before holding it vertically a foot away from his face. The Oblivion flicked to the right and a yellow light suddenly flew out of the tip. The light trailed down to the hilt before it was revealed that there was a tiny, beautiful young woman with wings, blonde hair, and blue eyes within the light, dressed in a green dress that barely made it past her hips.

"How you doing Tink?" Sora asked, smiling and dismissing the Oblivion from existence. Tinkerbell 'sat' in the air, hovering on her wings and chimed her answer in pixie, which sounded like bells chiming. Sora was very glad that with the amount of time he'd spent with Tinkerbell on his first journey he'd learned how to understand what Tinkerbell was saying.

"That's good, and you look the same too. How's Peter doing?"

Tink started chiming rapidly, bouncing up and down in the air as she 'stood' and began pacing, running her hands exasperatedly through her hair.

Sora's eyes followed her closely as his smile slipped from his face. "Hold on! Not so fast Tink! What's the matter? Did he go and kiss Wendy or something?"

Tink's face flushed bright red and she stormed right into Sora's face, chiming angrily. Sora backed away quickly to try and get some distance between him and the pixie. Tinkerbell had always had a hard time controlling her jealousy.

"I get it, I shouldn't have mentioned it!" Sora exclaimed while backing away more as Tinkerbell pursued him. He nearly tripped over his own feet. "But what did he do?"

Tink gave three very angry, and deliberately spaced out chimes. _HE… GOT… MARRIED!_

Sora's eyes widened in shock at Tinkerbell's proclamation. "He did what? To Wendy?"

Tink shook her head and she seemed to be losing her fire as her head lowered. Her chimes were sounding subdued and almost heartbroken.

The Keyblade Master's eyes get a bit wider. "Her granddaughter? But—but that's impossible! It's only been a year since I last saw you all!"

A voice spoke up behind Sora. "Uh, what are you talking about Sora?"

He looked quizzically behind him and saw Kairi looking between him and the pixie quizzically. Sora nearly blushed again in embarrassment. He'd forgotten that she was even there.

Tink had apparently noticed Kairi as well and zipped right up to Sora's ear and began chiming in pixie.

"Oh, Tink this is my friend Kairi," Sora began hastily, quickly remembering Tinkerbell's rapid jealousy. "Kairi, this is Tinkerbell."

"Nice to meet you," Kairi said pleasantly, holding out her hand. Tinkerbell ignored the hand and stormed right into Kairi's face, chiming up a storm. Kairi backed up uncertainly with wide eyes.

"Um Sora," she began hesitantly, "what is she saying?"

"She, uh, wants to know what our relationship is like," Sora replied, not meeting Kairi's eyes and rubbing the back of his head; also not wanting to fully translate what Tinkerbell was saying.

Kairi blinked and Sora could only imagine the expression on Tink's face that had Kairi give an embarrassed and flushed response of, "We're, well, we're friends, but um—"

Sora gulped, because Tink seemed to think that this was all she needed to here and was once more in Sora's face, angrily and rapidly firing off the pixie language.

"Tink please hold on," Sora pleaded. "It's not what you think, well, not yet, but you can't be the only girl in my life Tinkerbell! Anyway, I didn't call you here to discuss my love life!"

His face burned with the hot blood that flowed through his cheeks, and Sora realized that he'd been doing a lot of that lately; maybe he'd end up like the Red Man, who kissed a maid and began to blush and they'd all been blushing since. Tinkerbell huffed and glared at him from across her shoulder.

"I actually called you here to ask for your help," Sora began. Tink's eyes narrowed and he sighed. "I wanted to, I wanted to teach Kairi how to fly," he explained, wincing at the seething, livid stare he was receiving from the pixie. "Could you help me out, please?"

Tinkerbell's wicked glare made her terrible for him to behold, and Sora was only barely able to match her gaze. For several gruesome minutes they held eyes, neither flinching nor moving any muscle.

Finally, while still looking at one another, Tinkerbell smiled. She opened her mouth and surprised Sora, for for the first time in his memory Tinkerbell was speaking to him in English!

"Alright," she said. "I'll do it, and I'll give you a box full of dust so that you can fly on other worlds too."

"You will?" Sora asked excitedly, beaming at her.

"On a couple of conditions," she said, a giggle in her light voice.

"What's the catch?"

Tink answered. "One: you have to pay for me to go to a spa, I need a little relaxation and time away from the Lost Boys." Her smile widened a little more and Sora grew worried. "And two: you have to promise me that you'll come and visit Neverland again."

Sora blinked and stopped for a moment.

_I thought she was going to ask for a kiss or something,_ Roxas said.

_So did I,_ thought Sora.

"Done," he said. "I promise I'll visit Neverland again, and soon too. Now how much for the spa?"

"Well… I think around 2500 munny should cover it," she answered.

Sora and Kairi both gasped. "2500!"

"Do you even have that much?" Kairi asked in a whisper.

"I have plenty more than that thanks to the Heartless," Sora replied, "but it's still a lot." He shrugged off his backpack and extracted his money bag and spent a few minutes counting the yellow and blue beads of munny until he had attained the total. He handed it all to the pixie and after he did the munny vanished and she gave him a satisfied smile. Tinkerbell flew over both him and Kairi, showering them both in glittering golden dust. Tink flew back to Sora's side and a small green and gold box appeared in the air in front of him. He took it and placed the box inside of his backpack alongside his money bag. Already he could feel himself leaving the ground slightly, as if he weighed nothing at all. The long-lost feeling was bringing a smile to his lips.

"Goodbye Sora," Tinkerbell said, her smile slipping slightly. She flew off into the sky, and Sora watched as she turned into a tiny star before becoming lost to his sight.

Sora nodded and mumbled, "Bye Tink." He looked back at Kairi and hovered a foot into the air, grinning at her face when he shot up suddenly.

"You really can fly," she whispered.

"And you can too," Sora replied eagerly.

Kairi looked at him skeptically. "How?"

Sora's smile left his face. It had been a long time since Peter Pan had taught him how to fly.

"Huh," he said, dropping dumbfounded to the ground. "I can't remember." Kairi made a noise that was somewhat between an aggrieved sigh and a giggle and Sora flashed her a look of annoyance. "Just give me a minute to think, okay?" he told her.

_Think,_ he thought suddenly. "That's it!" he exclaimed loudly, shooting into the air above Kairi's head. "Just think of a wonderful thought."

"Are you serious?" Kairi asked, her face slowly losing its skepticism as she studied the boy of fifteen who was flying around her head in circles. "Any happy little thought?"

"Yep," Sora answered with a wide smile. She was catching on, but he had first thought that she'd never believe him if he told her that he'd flown. Maybe she could use a little more prodding.

"_Just think of a wonderful thought,"_ he started to sing, slowly flying in a circle around Kairi as she closed her eyes, _"Any happy little thought._

_Think of sleigh bells; think of snow;  
Think of Christmas, off you go!_

"_Up into the sky,"_ Sora continued as Kairi's feet slowly left the ground. Her eyes opened, amazed and filled with both shock and wonderment. Sora took her hand and led her high into the sky as he drew out the word 'sky'. Kairi shrieked at the sudden, rapid acceleration and her arms flew around Sora and clutched him tightly. He chuckled.

"You can fly," he spoke instead of sang to finish, stopping above the waters between Felra and their play island. "Open your eyes Kairi."

She obeyed, slowly. Sora watched with amusement as her gorgeous indigo eyes took in the fact that they were two thousand feet in the air above the ocean, and very close to a small, low, white cloud at that.

"H—how?" Kairi asked, looking at him.

"Remember that happy thought Kairi?" he asked, swaying back and forth in the air while holding her close.

She nodded.

"Good," Sora said. "Keep a tight hold on that thought, because we're going to start now." He started to move forward and he slackened his hold on the girl to allow some air to move between them and give her some experience.

"Don't let go!" Kairi urged him as one of his hands left her.

"Don't worry Kairi," Sora told her calmly. "I won't let you fall. Now we're going to start going faster, and your body is going to go from being upright to horizontal. Don't fight it, just go with it. You'll love it."

Kairi nodded and Sora started to pick up speed, his and Kairi's bodies beginning to go flat. For a few seconds Kairi stayed where she was, curled up close to his chest, but then he saw a smile form on her lips as her eyes closed in what looked to be contentment. They opened again quickly afterwards and Sora could tell by the sparkle in them that she was enjoying it. Kairi rolled away from him and off to his side, their only contact the single hand that they had clasped to one another.

"Wahoo!" Kairi exclaimed as Sora picked up a bit more speed and took her down into a steep dive before pulling up and making a loop. "You were right Sora, this is amazing!"

"You want to try flying on your own now?" he asked her, a laugh in his voice.

Kairi's reply came back enthusiastically. "Just teach me the basics and let me figure out the rest," she said, laughing. "This is incredible!" Sora's smile widened. She believed.

"Okay," he said. "Flying 101. To hover in place, you think about hovering; to descend, you think about descending; to ascend, you think about going up, etcetera etcetera etcetera."

Kairi nearly laughed as Sora forced her body to roll around his as twisted around. "That's it?"

Sora did laugh. "That's it."

"Well I can do that," she replied humourously, letting go of Sora. The auburn-haired princess started to drop down as soon as she let go of Sora and she let out a frightened cry of, "Whoa! Sora!"

"Happy thought Kairi!" he called to her, turning down to get beneath her in case he had to catch her. Kairi screeched to a stop in midair just barely higher than him, a weird look on her face. Sora smiled as she hovered in the air and looked at him, chuckling slightly in embarrassment.

"Whoops," she said.

Sora tried not to laugh. "Just start with hovering and going up, down, and side to side," he instructed. "Then you can get to doing some of the fancy stuff." Sora started moving up and twisted in a corkscrew before making a half-loop and coming back down to her level.

Kairi huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from him. "Show off," she said, then looked back at him with a smile. She suddenly jolted backwards about eight feet in a fast movement as if she'd been kicked hard in the stomach. "Whaa!"

"Gently Kairi!" Sora called, doing his best once more not to laugh.

Kairi stopped with her face red in surprise and shock. "So I have to think about my speed too?" she asked.

"Yes," Sora answered, still restraining a few laughs. "Don't worry though," he began, flying back over to her side, "it becomes easy real quick. The first time I flew I had to do it to escape a crocodile and then fight a bunch of Heartless."

Kairi slipped slightly and smiled as she caught herself. "I don't think I'm ready for airborne combat yet," she said. "How about a peaceful lesson?"

Sora obliged, and for a glorious half-hour he taught Kairi how to fly. He flew alongside her, above her, below her, in front of her, and behind her as she got better and better. They raced, weaved, twisted, and turned in the sky as the afternoon lengthened, smiles and laughter permanently issuing from their lips because the happy thought that each of them latched onto to keep afloat was the other.

Sora dropped back down onto the beach, landing lightly and perfectly on his toes. He turned around and was nearly blinded out of the upper left side of his vision by the Sun as its descent began to make a run for sunset; the sky was already beginning to go gold and pink. Blocking it out with a hand, he looked again and spotted Kairi coming down. She landed hard and awkwardly, spraying up sand with her feet and falling forwards.

Sora caught her as she fell and slowly brought her hack up to a standing position. He then turned his head towards the ground and started to spit. "Fangs a lob Kairi," he grumbled, rubbing fingers on his tongue, "you gob samb in my mouf!"

Kairi laughed as Sora continued to clean the sand out of the inside of his cheeks until she gasped. He gave one last spit and looked at her. "What is it?"

"It's like, twenty to six," Kairi answered worriedly. "It'll take us twenty minutes to get to my house from here too. My dad's going to skin us alive."

Sora became uneasy. "Isn't that a little extreme?" he asked anxiously. "I mean, we haven't done anything."

"Well, no we didn't," Kairi admitted, "but they don't know that." She glowed with golden light for a second before a golden orb shot out of her and grew to become the transparent form of Naminé.

"But you—we—did," Naminé said. "We hung out, by ourselves, just the two, or four, of us."

"What'd you and Roxas do?" Sora asked with interest.

Even though she was transparent, Naminé's blush was still visible. "While you two were flying around, we were together and talked. That's all we did, I swear! And I drew in my sketchbook more than I talked."

"Right," Kairi said, drawing it out and winking at Sora. Naminé looked at her Somebody in indignation and vanished back within her in golden light.

_Was that really all you guys did?_ Sora asked Roxas.

_Yes it was,_ Roxas answered. _And we really didn't talk much either._

_I'm not going to tease you because I know what you mean,_ said Sora.

_Thank you._

Sora looked back at Kairi. "Let's get going then before your dad has the chance to kill us, or me at least."

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, and I still have to teach you how to tie your tie and we have homework to do too."

-A-D-

The walk from the beach to Kairi's house was a quiet one. It wasn't quite because neither teenager wanted to talk to the other, nor was it the sort of awkward silence that fell into place when both parties are unsure of what to say to the other. It was the comforting, peaceful silence between old friends who were simply fond of each other's close company and grateful to be with them.

Sora was happy even through his anxiety at seeing Seymour finding him with Kairi, alone, long after she should already have been home. The gentle fragrance of strawberries that had soothingly wafted from Kairi throughout the day still persisted, and the soft scent calmed his mind and left a tiny smile on his face. He was happy just to be back, at peace, and to find himself lucky enough to be walking her home.

By the time they reached her house the Sun had gone down in the west, the orange light coming from the burning globe gracing the world with tranquility as the star's lower edge hovered only a centimetre or two above the pink and gold horizon. Sora and Kairi stopped on her porch and looked out towards the beaches they had just come from, towards where the westering Sun was slowly sinking beneath the waves. Sora inhaled deeply and gave a long sigh as the sea-salt air mingled with the faint breeze and the gentle berry smell that Kairi gave off. "You really don't miss it 'till it's gone," he whispered. He looked at Kairi and found her smiling at him.

She sighed and gave Sora a pleasant surprise when she shuffled just a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "No," whispered Kairi, "you really don't." Sora looked down at her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed perfectly contented, her eyes closed and her breathing slow, deep, and rhythmic. They still had backpacks on, but Sora disregarded that as he wrapped his left arm around her shoulder.

Kairi didn't really appear to notice, but Sora could tell that her eyes had closed and she made a noise that sounded oddly enough like a purr. He shifted his head slightly and looked at her. The golden light from the Sun danced on her face and sifted through her hair as it was gently tussled in the faint breeze, making it come alive with vibrantly beautiful embers. She looked so peaceful resting there, her hands on his shoulder with the top of her head just barely flitting against his jaw. Kairi's moist breath tickled his face as her lips parted just enough for Sora to see that they were open. Those same lips had brushed against his only a few hours earlier, and they were so close now… He wanted to feel them again.

Sora stopped himself before he moved an inch. What in Hera's name was he thinking? Kissing those sweet, slightly tasting of strawberry, lips that had long been denied to him by the bonds of friendship on the very porch of their owner's father! He must be mad for even considering such a crazy move. But then, Sora recalled something his friend Hercules had once told him:

People always do crazy things when they're in love.

Sora shifted his body slightly so that he was turned just a little bit more towards Kairi and brought his right hand around and softly cupped her chin. The auburn-haired girl noticed his initial shifting and her eyes slowly opened questioningly into his cerulean seas. Sora saw an instant change in her from the moment that his fingers brushed against her chin. The indigo that swirled within her eyes changed from being confusedly inquisitive to hopeful and excitedly curious, almost as if she knew what was coming but was still unsure that it was actually happening.

He did not want to disappoint her. Kairi, his princess, his light, was so beautiful and he was so in love with her. He did not want to disappoint her.

"Kairi…" he whispered, his eyes unable to leave her face. He wasn't sure if his throat would allow his next words to get through, as his whisper had partially been for intimacy and partially because his heart was clenching up and his mouth was becoming insatiably dry. The words were in his head and his heart, but they were taking far too long for his throat to force them out, leaving only one course of action available to him. Sora started to lean in as his eyelids lowered…

And the door opened with a loud _snap_!

The Keyblade Master and Princess of Heart jolted back and away from the other as if struck by lightning, the sudden noise startling them nearly out of their wits. Sora was stumbling against the bench set against the house as Kairi's mother poked her head first, and then her whole body out of the door. She sighed exasperatedly, apparently not noticing either teenager's cherry-red face just yet. "There you are Kairi!" said Janet. "I've been worried."

Kairi removed a hand from her chest as the shock wore off. "Don't worry Mom," she said, Sora able to detect a small amount of frustration and disappointment at their ruined moment, "I've been in good hands."

Sora got up off of the bench, which he'd eventually fallen onto, and looked towards Janet. He found Kairi's mother smiling knowingly at him. "I should have known that you'd be with him," she said, turning back to look at her adopted daughter. "There aren't many other people that Selphie would simply address as 'her practically-but-not-quite-yet boyfriend.'"

"You called Selphie!" Kairi asked. "Why?"

"I was sure that she would know where you were," Janet answered matter-of-factly.

"She probably told you all about how Kairi's got something to teach me tonight," Sora grumbled.

"Oh!" Kairi said quickly, remembering. "Mom, can Sora stay for dinner? He needs to learn how to tie his tie for tomorrow and I told him I'd teach him."

Janet considered for a couple of seconds and nodded her head. "I guess it will be okay. Your father called after I'd already started cooking for three; said that he'd be a bit late tonight and that he would have something to eat at work, so there'd otherwise be an extra portion. But why didn't you teach him sooner?"

"We were, uh…" Sora faltered as Janet's gaze came back to him with a wry, knowing smile, "we were doing something," he finished lamely.

Sora realized at the look that she was giving him that she had to have seen what had almost transpired on her porch and he sheepishly ran a hand across the back of his head. "Doing something huh? I suppose, that if you insist on calling it that, then that's a good substitute for learning how to tie a tie."

"Mother…" Kairi grumbled firmly. "We weren't doing _that_. Sora was teaching me _this_!"

Janet nearly jumped as high as Kairi had just shot into the air. She gaped at her daughter with eyes wider than saucers as the eleventh-grader swayed back and forth, her hanging toes skimming a foot above the wooden boards of the porch, her head nearly touching the base of the overhang. "You can fly," the woman said, awed by her daughter.

"Thanks to a friend of mine and a happy thought, yeah," Sora answered, smiling as Kairi dropped lightly back onto the porch. "Very good Kairi. That was much better than your last landing; I don't have to spit out sand!"

Kairi stuck her tongue out at him and went past her recovering mother and into her house. Sora laughed and followed her in, noticing with a small amount of delight that Janet was too preoccupied to rumple his spiky hair.

-A-D-

Seymour, to the discomfort of Sora's nerves, came home from work most of the way through their dinner. He didn't immediately spot Sora sitting at the table, and it wasn't until the man had sat down, sighing, that he noticed that the boy was there. Sora had _not_ been sitting where he usually sat when he was at their table for meals, across from Kairi. Instead, he was sitting _next_ to Kairi, on Seymour's far side, and within discreet under-the-table hand-holding distance of the girl.

"Have a good day at work dear?" Janet asked, watching Seymour's eyes track down the position of Sora's hands with something akin to amusement on her face. The Mayor nodded his head curtly and rose from the table. He passed behind Sora's chair on his way to the counter and cupboards.

"So I heard from your mother that you were late coming home today Kairi," he said, taking out a small plate and a tea cup from different locations before heading towards the refrigerator.

"I thought that you said you were going to get something to eat at the office," Janet said, glancing curiously at her husband before Kairi could answer.

"I did get a bite," he said, "but it won't be enough to last me into the night." He extracted a frozen burrito from the freezer section and placed it on his plate while moving towards the microwave.

"Yes, I was late," Kairi admitted, picking at the remains of her caesar salad with her fork and nabbing a piece of lettuce. "I was doing something." She placed the piece of lettuce inside of her mouth and bit down.

Seymour pressed the 'Start' button on the microwave and turned back towards the table as his food began to heat up. "Doing something?" he asked. "Doing what?"

"Well," Kairi began slowly, swallowing first. "I was talking to a couple of new teachers after school for a little while, and then I went to The Sweet Shop with Sora and Riku where we met up with Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. One of the new teachers I had been talking to, Miss Yuffie, came by and joined us."

"And that was all?" Seymour asked. "That seems a long time to be eating ice cream Kairi."

Kairi looked at her dad and rolled her eyes while Sora decided that it might be wisest if he kept silent. "Of course that wasn't _all_ I did. I went for a walk on the beach too."

"By yourself?" her father questioned, his eyes flickering to Sora. The boy gulped.

"Oh you don't have to worry about Sora Dad," Kairi said quickly. "He's here tonight so that we can work on our homework together, and so that he can learn how to tie his tie!"

"You still didn't answer me if you were alone," Seymour told her.

Kairi opened her mouth and looked about to say something, but nothing would come out past her lips. She closed her mouth again and glanced at Sora quickly before looking down at the table. "How do I explain this?" she wondered aloud.

"So you were with Sora," Seymour said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "I thought that that's who you'd be with, walking along the beach."

"May we be excused?" Kairi asked loudly, placing her utensils down on her plate rather forcefully. "Sora and I have homework to do." Her parents nodded and Kairi tapped Sora on the shoulder. He quickly took the hint and swallowed his last bite and looked at her, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Sora," asked Kairi, "could you get our books out in the living room please? I'll get your plate."

"Thanks Kai," Sora said, getting up from the table. He felt extremely grateful to Kairi as he left her kitchen to go to her room, where they'd dropped off their backpacks. He grabbed both of them after a quick seven seconds in the pink-painted room, sparing the familiar furnishings only a quick glance before exiting.

He was on his way back down the stairs when he met Kairi going up them. "Where're you going?" he asked.

"To have a shower and change," Kairi answered like it was obvious, her hands already undoing the button third from the top of her white uniform shirt. For less than a second Sora wondered why she was unbuttoning her shirt _now_ when he realized that: a.) this was her house so she likely did stuff like that all the time; b.) that he was blocking her way up to her shower; and c.) that he was blocking her path to her shower, while she was subconsciously undressing in front of him, while her parents were in the house and only about fifteen feet away in a direct line through walls!

"Be my guest!" he said hastily, flattening himself against the wall so that she could pass. Once she had, Sora was very quick to strike as direct a path to the living room as possible.

"Sora!"

He froze just after passing the kitchen/dining room. Seymour had called his name. "Yes?"

"Come in here please young man."

Sora obeyed. Entering the room he saw Seymour still sitting at the head of the table, his burrito already mostly finished. Janet was by the dishwasher, placing her plate and utensils inside of it.

Seymour looked at Sora, nodded slightly to himself, and then looked at Janet. "Could you leave us alone for a while honey?"

She glanced between her husband and Sora for a second before speaking. "Alright sweetie," she said, picking up her teacup from the table. She passed Sora, rumpling his spikes with her free hand and whispered, "Good luck," into his ear. Sora quickly turned to question her, but she had disappeared down a hallway.

"You can put those down Sora," Seymour said, drawing the brunette's attention back to him.

Sora looked at the bags he was still carrying in each hand. "But Kairi and I were—"

Seymour waved a fork with a piece of his burrito on it dismissively. "Don't worry about it," he said just as the sound of running water on the floor above them started. "When Kairi is being quick in having a shower and getting dressed it takes her thirty minutes, forty-five if you're involved."

Sora and Roxas were both taken by surprise by this comment.

_Can you check with Naminé to see if that's true?_

_I don't think that she'll know, but I'll ask her… and I'M SORRY, BYE NAMINÉ!_

Sora frowned slightly. _What just happened?_

_Did you know that it is possible for either Naminé or me to knock on the other's 'door' for lack of a better term?_

_Uh, no. Why do you ask?_

_Because I'm now very glad that we can,_ Roxas answered, his voice still shaking. _The way we communicate while in your hearts is kinda complicated, and let's just say that if I hadn't have knocked, I probably would have walked in on her getting undressed._

Sora dropped the bags and tried not to either snigger at his Nobody's near misfortune, or become terrified as to what would have happened to him if he had. He remained standing for a few seconds as Seymour placed the last piece in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. The Mayor took a sip of his tea. "Take my plate," he ordered kindly, standing up. Sora did so, and went to the dishwasher to put it away.

"I think that it's time we had a talk Sora," Seymour said as Sora was doing this.

_Crud,_ Roxas thought the same instant Sora did as he momentarily hesitated in putting Seymour's fork into the cutlery holder.

"Wha—what about?" Sora asked, cursing himself for stuttering. He had to have sounded scared, or nervous, or both.

Seymour didn't seem to notice, or if he did, his voice hid it. "About my little girl: about Kairi."

Sora froze. "A—a talk about Kairi?"

Seymour must have heard his voice squeak that time, because he chuckled. "Yes Sora, a talk about Kairi. Man to man, so you can relax a little. I'm not going to bite your head off."

Sora didn't feel too reassured as he closed the door to the dishwasher and turned to face Seymour. The man spoke again before Sora could, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to speak right now.

"Sora," Seymour started slowly, "you're an incredible young man, did you know that?"

Sora blinked, hard. This was not what he had expected Seymour to say.

"Walk with me," Seymour said, motioning for Sor to come with him. "An incredible young man," he continued, leading Sora out of the kitchen with an arm around Sora's shoulders and his cup of tea in his left him. "And don't think that I don't know it."

"Uh, thank you," Sora said, trying to sound appreciative and not completely confused.

"For one thing," continued Kairi's adoptive father, "you wield a Keyblade, and are the Keyblade's Chosen Master; you've saved the worlds and my daughter not once but twice, and you're also in love with her."

Sora nearly stopped, but he wasn't exactly able to with the steady pressure of Seymour's arm against his shoulders as the man turned them towards his study. "I—I can explain sir."

"There's no need to explain anything; close the door," Seymour told him. Sora did as he was told without hesitation and looked around. He had only glanced into it before, but now he had time to look in detail, despite the slightly stressful situation he now found himself in. There was a large redwood drawing desk in front of and between two windows with white blinds; behind the desk was a hardwood chair with green cushions. There were two chairs identical to it in front of the desk. A large bookshelf was against one wall, and the rest of the wall was decorated with a few posters, most noticeably a large one of a blitzball team, the Felra Furies, that was tacked up next to a trophy case that contained a respectable number of awards within it.

Seymour sat down behind the desk and motioned for Sora to sit across from him. Sora pulled up one of the chairs, glancing behind him to see a mirror on the back of the door. He looked back at the desk, all that separated him from Kairi's father. There was a personal computer, keyboard, mouse, and phone sitting on the desk.

Sora's attention was brought back to Seymour as the man placed his teacup down with a sudden _clink_. "I know that you love her Sora," the man said, his expression unreadable and his tone bordering on stern. "I've known from the moment you first met her ten years ago."

Sora gulped. "You have?" With the man's tone of voice, he didn't dare try to deny that he loved Kairi in front of him.

"You look at her differently than any other boy I've seen her with, whether he be a close friend like Riku or otherwise," Seymour explained. "I can see that you become happier just by being close to her, a happiness that comes from the heart. And I can tell you that she feels the same."

"Sir?"

"She's in love with you Sora," Seymour said flatly. "In case you didn't already know, she loves you. She loved you like she loves no other person. I've heard her speaking to Naminé and her, their, mother when they think that no one is listening. The few boyfriends that Kairi had last year while she went through what can only be called a depression at being the only person to remember you, and _then_ only as 'the boy she couldn't remember,' were (mostly) boys that she was on friendly terms with, but they looked to me like feeble attempts to fill the void your absence had made in her heart. As far as I know, she couldn't bear to kiss any of them."

Sora nodded his head curtly to himself without quite knowing why, but the idea of Kairi kissing another boy made a savage little monster grumble inside of him. "Well she kissed me today," he muttered, not quite thinking.

Seymour had apparently heard him and started chuckling. "She did, did she?"

_Smooth move genius,_ Roxas said as Sora realized his slip-up.

"I'm not surprised," Kairi's father continued. "She's been itching to do that for a week. The little pecks on her cheek that you keep leaving aren't going to satisfy her much longer Sora."

"Okay now this is weird," Sora told him.

"What's weird?" asked Seymour.

"You're pretty much telling me to kiss and date your daughter," Sora answered. "This is the last thing I'd expect!"

Seymour gave Sora a stern look, cowing him. "All I want is for Kairi to be happy," he said. "I've raised her as my own child for these past ten years and nothing, nothing," he emphasized, "has made her happier than the times that she has spent with you. Although there will be something that her mother and I are going to discuss with her soon that will make her extremely excited."

"What's that?" Sora asked cautiously.

Seymour smiled widely. "In close to eight months, she's going to have a baby brother or sister."

For a whole second, you would have been able to hear a feather fall onto the carpet, even the sound of Kairi's shower water running through the pipes seemed to have gone silent.

Then Sora's eyes went wide as he absorbed the news and he made a stunned noise before managing to splutter out, "Congratulations! That's wonderful news!"

_Whoa…_ he and Roxas both thought.

"Thank you," Seymour said, probably guessing the boy's thoughts. "The baby's going to need a lot of attention from both us and Kairi, and she's going to need a loving and supportive person to turn to when things get a little rough. Can I count on you to be that person and to take care of my daughter?"

"You can," Sora said confidently.

"Promise me that you will," Seymour said firmly. "She is blessed to be in love with a young man as kind, loving, and strong as you are."

"I promise," Sora answered. His voice was filled with as much weight and conviction as his heart could muster into it.

This apparently satisfied Seymour, for he smiled and stood from his chair. "Very good," he said pleasantly, and began a new train of thought in a conversational tone. "So just what do you see in my daughter anyway Sora?"

Sora could have whipped up a dozen reasons on the spot, the problem was trying to sort out the jumbled mass and articulate it. "Where to start?" he asked rhetorically, trying to buy himself some time. He started fingering things in his uniform pockets and his fingers brushed against and clutched the very reason why he was in Kairi's house in the first place. "For one thing she can tie a tie," he said, pulling it out and looking at the blue and white plaid thing with embarrassment.

"You don't need Kairi for that," Seymour chuckled, "that's what mothers and fathers are for. Who do you think taught Kairi how to tie hers? Come here son." He came around the desk to stand in front of Sora. He took the tie from him and examined the length for a second before placing it around the boy's neck and adjusting the length of both sides.

"Now pay attention," he said, "because if you're going to want to impress Kairi and look good in a suit you will need to know how to tie this. Left over right now."

"Left over right?" Sora asked. "Like this?"

"A bit higher up and a bit tighter Sora," Seymour instructed. "That's it. Now loop the left side under and over where they meet. No Sora not the right, the _left_. The first left side."

"But that's on my right now," Sora said, confused.

"But it started on your left shoulder, so I will always be calling it the left," Seymour told him. "There you go. So apart from being able to tie a tie, what else do you see in Kairi?"

Sora's fingers fumbled for an instant on the tie. "Uh…"

"Keep your fingers on the tie Sora," Seymour reminded him, "keep it tight. Let me give you a hand here on that thought. Is Kairi pretty?"

"Gorgeous!" Sora blurted out before he could stop himself. Sora saw him raise an eyebrow in the mirror in front of them, but didn't pay attention to it now that he had something to think about. "Kairi's skin is just so soft and, and radiant! And her hair, oh, her hair is just beautiful, and her legs and hips are absolutely amazing." He was rambling now, but he didn't care and Seymour seemed to find it amusing that Sora could not stop himself from listing off everything. "When she smiles or flicks her hair out I just can't stop feeling so warm and happy inside. And when she looks at me with those eyes of hers, those eyes that glitter like precious stones reflecting starlight, I just lose myself in them and feel completely at peace. And her lips! They tasted like she smells: that faint hint of strawberry on my lips when she kissed me. Oh…"

"Keep your fingers tight Sora," Seymour said. "Now bring the left up and through and hang it down on the right; then repeat. Over, under, up, and through."

"But it's not just how Kairi looks," Sora said hastily, shaking his head and trying to remember the instructions. "She's got a beautiful personality too. She's kind, sweet, smart, fun, funny, loving, caring—"

"Perfect?" supplied Seymour.

Sora frowned as he brought the tie underneath and up through the hole. "No," he said. "She's stubborn, commanding, manipulative, and downright terrifying when she's angry."

"Now put the left down through the loop here," Seymour said, guiding Sora through the last step of a Windsor knot.

"In short," Sora began, looking down to make sure he was getting it in right. "She's Kairi, and I love her and wouldn't change a thing about her."

"Look in the mirror now," Seymour instructed, "and pull on the right, down here, to tighten it. Make sure you also put it through the tag on the back so that it looks nice."

Sora did so, and when he looked in the mirror after tightening and straightening the tie, he found that he was smiling, and that his nerves were completely gone. In fact, it almost felt like a great weight had been removed from the pit of his stomach, and he felt so light that he could fly. The fact that because of the pixie dust he now _could_ fly wasn't part of it.

"Nicely done, and nicely answered Sora," Seymour told him. "And if you want practice," he added furtively with a wink, "get a bowl of strawberries."

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Practice kissing a strawberry before you try to kiss my little girl," the man said. "It'll taste like her lips, and strawberries are perfectly shaped for kissing practice."

Sora pulled on one end to loosen his tie until he could slip it off of his head. He was going to cheat by leaving it tied so that he'd only have to slip it on and tighten it in the morning. He gave Seymour a weird look. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

-A-D-

Kairi was down half an hour later for them both the start on their chemistry, which went by fast enough that they were able to watch a short movie together on the chesterfield in the living room before Sora had to leave. There was one moment during the movie where Sora felt a sudden surge of excitement followed by contentment and peace that didn't have anything to do with the film, but he chose not to explore it at that time.

When it was time for him to leave, Kairi appeared to be moving to kiss him on the lips again, but she faked it and got his cheek instead. Sora realized that the next true kiss they'd be sharing would have to come from his initiative.

As soon as he got home he grabbed a bowl and filled it with strawberries from the fridge before he went to the phone and called Riku.

_Do you really believe that this idea of yours is going to work?_ Roxas asked.

_No,_ Sora answered after he'd finished his phone call and was heading up to their room with the strawberry bowl in hand, _but I hope that it will._

-A-D-

_Well that's the end of that, a very different version of the sixth chapter from last time._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	7. Far Away

_For those of you who remember the battle I had against Xemnas, and how this whole chapter had pretty much been geared solely towards that, you're in for a shocker._

_Congratulations Scott Moire and Tessa Virtue, Canada's Ice Dance duo, for winning Canadian Gold on home ice last night, and congratulations again to the Canadian Women's Hockey Team for defeatling Finland 5-0. Go Canada Go! And about the Canada vs USA Men's Hockey Game on Sunday... Canada should have won that game, we outplayed the American team in almost every way, but Ryan Miller just played amazing well that night with some superb goaltending. Oh well, we're playing Germany tonight and then Russia. We'll see you Americans in the Final just like we did in Salt Lake City, and we'll whup you again._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this except for my plot and the original characters that I have._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter VII: Far Away

"Hey look it's Sora."

"Did you hear about what he and Kairi did?"

"I heard that she kissed him during their Advanced Combat Mastery Class."

"That's not what I head."

"Yeah, I heard that they were making out in front of the whole class."

"So does this mean that they're finally together?"

"No way dude, he hasn't asked her out yet! And that means that Kairi's still fair game."

"You aren't putting your greasy hands on Kairi!"

"They are not greasy!"

"I heard from a friend that they went to the beach together after class yesterday, alone!"

"Do you think that means that they…"

"Holy shit! Did they really?"

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!! Wow! I never would have guessed."

"Looks that way. I just can't believe that Kairi would let him go that far."

"I didn't think that Sora would've had the courage to go that far."

"That's because he doesn't! _She's_ the one that kissed him. I was there; I saw it!"

"Yeah, but no one was around to watch them at the beach. Anything could have happened there."

"I don't think it happened though. They're both more sensible than that."

"Hey guys. What's going on?"

"Sora and Kairi are going out now."

"Well it's about time! How'd it happen?"

"It isn't official! He hasn't asked her to be his girlfriend yet!"

"So does that mean that Sora's still technically available?"

"I wouldn't count on it. But I think his friend Riku is."

"But I want both of them! I am so ready to have a boyfriend!"

"But then again, Riku's in grade twelve and has got about half of the single girls in the school stalking him…"

"Really? Hey, uh, are you doing anything Friday night?"

"Depends, are you asking me out?"

"See, this guy's got more guts than Sora! Kairi's the one who had to make the first move and he still hasn't responded."

"If it were me, I'd have kissed her right back. She's so damn hot!"

"I heard that they did more than kiss each other at the beach."

"Damn, tell me that they didn't!"

Sora grumbled and slammed the door to his locker shut. He had barely been inside the building for three minutes and already the only talk he'd overheard had been hushed whispers about him and Kairi, apparently, _finally_ dating! As far as he could remember (and he and Roxas were both quite clear on his memory of the previous day thank you very much), he still had not asked Kairi out; he had not yet asked her to be his girlfriend, and in the name of the Almighty Zeus the furthest that they'd gone was when Kairi had impulsively kissed him in class the previous day. There had been no erotic shenanigans on the beach!

But Sora had to wonder why he and Kairi had suddenly become the talk of the _whole frigging school!_ Wasn't there a single person in this building that did _not_ care about their relationship or was a gossip freak?

_But there was Kairi's mistake in the first place,_ Roxas announced. _She just _had_ to do it in front of a class full of people._

_It's not that,_ Sora answered. _It's that she did it in front of Selphie._

_Ah,_ Roxas consented, _you have a point there._

_Rule #1,_ Sora said, shouldering his backpack, _do _not_ tell or do anything in front of Selphie with the word 'kiss' in it unless it's 'KISS'._

_Why not KISS?_

Sora rolled his eyes. _Because she doesn't care about or like KISS. Why though is beyond me, they're awesome!_

_But Kairi broke that rule into a thousand pieces and let Axel set it on fire,_ Roxas sighed.

_She did it in the seventh grade too,_ Sora told Roxas, grumbling slightly at the memory. _She couldn't wait to tell her that Benny had kissed her._

_Whoa, back up! You mean to tell me that she's been kissed before!?_

_She's probably forgotten all about it by now, Benny moved to Nova the next year and we haven't seen or heard from him since, but yeah._

Sora entered his English classroom quickly, not liking the constant whispering in the halls. Jean wasn't in there yet, as it was still a few minutes before the five-minute bell, but there were a couple of other students in the room, early for their own reasons.

All talk ceased momentarily as Sora walked through the door. Heads turned in his direction and Sora sombrely made his way to his seat, the eyes of his peers stalking his every move. He was an animal on display, pacing within a cage, and he was being expectantly observed as if he'd do anything interesting.

Sora didn't, just scowled and sat down in his desk. After a few seconds his currently seven classmates came to the simultaneous conclusion that he wasn't about to start talking and returned to their own conversations, a few of them Sora was able to tell were about him and Kairi.

He did not enjoy the public scrutiny that was accompanying this development in his relationship with the auburn-haired Princess of Heart. Why was the whole world making such a big deal about him and Kairi? Everywhere he walked now people started treating him as if he was on his deathbed, speaking only in hushed whispers about him or Kairi. No one else ever got this much attention, not even the players of their school's blitzball team!

But the part that annoyed him the most was that he hadn't done anything yet!

Sora looked up through the ringing of the warning bell as a much closer sound attracted his attention. Saji had dropped her backpack beside her chair and her dark red eyes were giving him a very interesting look from underneath her pink hair.

"So," the girl began, skipping the formalities as she sat down in front of Sora, "word is that you and Kairi are finally dating."

Sora smiled. He couldn't quite explain it, but talking to a person in person rather than listening to all the talking going on behind his back seemed like a very pleasant idea at the moment.

"Actually Saji," he said, leaning in on his elbows, "if you'd been paying attention to the rumours—"

Saji cut him off. "Who needs rumours when I heard it from someone who was there?"

Sora smirked in amusement. "Someone who was there huh? So you trust Brit's word more than you trust, say, the guy it happened to?"

"Of course!" Saji answered. "You'd try to deny everything under the Sun and the truth would never get out. But I know for a fact that you and Kairi are now an item."

"Tough luck, I haven't as—"

"Brittany saw you and Kairi on her porch after school yesterday," Saji interrupted with a triumphant gleam in her dark red eyes. Sora's face turned pink and his ears started to smoke while his classmate continued. "She swore that she saw tongue-swapping before you both went into her house."

"What!?" Yumi asked suddenly, the blue-haired girl walking by to take her seat.

Sora's face became redder. "Brittany was grossly exaggerating," he retorted. His voice dropped harshly in volume in embarrassment as he forced himself to add, "Her mom came out before I could kiss her," just to keep the record straight.

He really didn't know if that was the only reason why he said it. Maybe it _was_ to squash the rumours, maybe to imply that he was asking for advice, he couldn't tell. If he was asking for advice then he was giving up on the plan he'd devised the previous night during his walk home, and he wasn't going to give up on that. All he could tell was that it would make them pity him, and immediately after he realized that, he understood that their pity would only make him feel more depressed about his inability to express to the girl he had fallen for that he loved her.

Saji and Yumi both sighed sympathetically. "Aww…" Saji said, looking off to the side slightly.

"Better luck next time Sora," Yumi said, continuing on to take her seat, giving Sora a soft pat on the shoulder as she went by.

Sora nodded slightly and quietly sighed before his eyes flickered up at a greeting. Taykase was coming to take his seat behind Sora. "Hey Sora!" he had said. "Congratulations man!"

"Oh can it Tay," Saji huffed, her chin resting in her palm with an elbow propped up on her desk. "It didn't happen. Parental interruption."

Tay's face fell. "Oh. Bummer man."

Saji nearly screamed in exasperation as Tay sat down. "Why is it taking sooo long!?"

"I'm right here Saji!" Sora reminded her, poking her just to make sure she remembered that he was only one desk behind.

She turned around, still with an air of pouting about her. "It doesn't matter," she told him. "Ever since eighth grade we could start to see it coming, and we're now three years later and you haven't done anything yet!"

"Excuse me for being a little busy with rescuing Kairi and saving the worlds at the same time twice!" Sora grumbled under his breath, noting at just how he had weighted those two.

"What?" Tay asked.

"Never mind," Sora told him. "I've just been a little preoccupied this past year."

Saji pouted. "You're such a goof Sora. You always need to have some room in there to maintain (or advance) your relationships, and especially your romantic ones."

Sora raised his eyebrows. "Well it's a good thing that I did leave room in my busy schedule last year for both of those."

_Ah,_ Roxas commented. _You're referring to Kairi through Naminé. Nice move slick._

_Thank you Roxas._

_I didn't know that you were so clever._

_Shut up Nobody._

"You mean like Miss Kisaragi and Mr. Axel?" Yumi asked, still listening to the conversation.

Taykase gave Sora a confused look. "Who?"

"Their Advanced Combat Mastery teachers," Saji told him quickly, her face clearly giving away the fact that she wanted to probe further into this. "So you knew them before they came here? And were friends with them?"

"Yuffie is definitely a close friend," Sora answered in a heartbeat, and regretted an instant later with the look his pink-haired friend was giving him. He went on regardless. "And Axel, well…"

_Remember what he did for you,_ Roxas reminded him, almost a warning growl in his voice.

_Yeah, and he kidnapped Kairi,_ Sora reminded Roxas.

_And he helped you get to The World That Never Was and told you where to find her and as good as sent you to save her!_

_But he wouldn't have had to do that if he hadn't kidnapped her in the first place._

_He said he was sorry!!_

_He didn't sound very sincere when he said it Roxas._

_He was a Nobody, he couldn't really feel,_ Roxas replied snippily.

_Axel told me that when he was with you, you made him feel like he had a heart._

Roxas' voice came back quieter and subdued. _Yeah, I know. He said the same thing to you, remember?_

Sora sighed. _Yeah, I remember._

_He's my friend Sora,_ Roxas said. _Doesn't that count for anything?_

_It counts for a lot Roxas,_ Sora thought quietly. _You trust him?_

_With our life,_ came his Nobody's steadfast answer.

"Sora?"

The spiky-haired brunette looked up. Saji was looking at him in concern, and Tay and Yumi probably were as well.

"You still here man?" Tay asked.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Sora answered.

"So what about Mr. Axel?" asked Saji.

"Well," Sora began slowly. "Half of me says that he's a friend. And I agree with him. Axel is my friend."

"Him?" questioned Yumi.

Sora wasn't about to answer her, as he had just seen a head covered in beautiful auburn locks enter the classroom. Kairi was about forty seconds ahead of the final bell, and wasted no time in coming over to Sora's desk.

He glanced at his nearby classmates as Kairi approached. Those who had been partaking in his conversation, eavesdropping, or engaged in other conversations were now all acting like their attention was elsewhere. Tay was taking books out of his bag, Saji was examining her nails, and Yumi was suddenly talking to a boy named Vance who sat just on Sora's right, the two apparently deep in conversation.

"Is it just me," Kairi began as she came into semi-private conversation range, "or is the whole school talking about us?"

"Good morning to you too Your Highness," Sora answered, smiling.

Kairi rolled her eyes but the corners of her lips twitched upwards into a wry smile anyway. "Good morning Sora. Hey, your tie is really nice today. I don't remember us ever getting around to it after chemistry last night. Sorry."

"Don't worry about forgetting about your private lesson Kai," Sora told her with a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. "My private lesson and the alone time your parents gave us more than compensated for it."

Sora could tell that every ear within twelve feet was now fixed on their location. Kairi was just looking at him with a weird expression on her face. Her mouth was open, but it was open in a wordless smile as her head shook. It looked like she was about to laugh but wasn't quite sure that she wanted to.

Finally she gave one short laugh before speaking. "Something is telling me that that was someone else's words coming from your mouth and that I should play along."

Sora did laugh. "That little voice in your head is completely right Kairi. You know that I would never imply so much."

"That's why I had to stop, think, and listen for a second," Kairi returned. "But now I'm wondering what he meant."

"Me too," Sora said. "We already know that nothing substantial happened while we were at the beach—"

"I'd say being above the clouds is pretty substantial," Kairi said, smiling as she worked a little bit of an emotional metaphor into what was actually a physical event.

"—but I'm not so sure during our homework and the movie," Sora finished.

"Well, there was that one part where I felt something, unrelated, in the back of my mind," Kairi said as the bell rang. "But, no. They couldn't have, could they?"

"Knowing Naminé, I don't think so," Sora told her, shaking his head.

Kairi only gave him half a nod in return. "I trust her, but I don't trust Roxas. It could have been him."

Sora frowned. Kairi had just sown the seeds of doubt into his mind. He trusted Roxas' judgement on Axel, but now he wasn't so sure if he trusted Roxas to have not made a significant move on Naminé before he'd been able to do likewise.

"You're right Kairi," he said. "In that aspect, I don't trust him! Your couch will likely never look the same again."

Sora quickly noticed that he was suddenly glowing blue before a small orb of blue light zipped out of his chest. It hovered beside Kairi for half of a second and then expanded in a flash to reveal Roxas standing with his arms folded and his lips in a thin straight line, ignoring the outbursts of surprise from Sora's classmates. He was dressed in the school uniform, and had his top two buttons undone and his tie slung around his shoulders.

"And just what are you and Kairi implying Sora?" he asked.

Kairi glimmered with golden light for an instant before an orb of the same colour and identical to Roxas' shot out of her chest and weaved to hover next to the transparent blonde Nobody. A moment later the transparent figure of Naminé was standing in the room, her expression matching Roxas' while her uniform was to the same standard as Kairi's. "I'd like to know that too," she said.

Sora dodged the question while he watched Naminé appear to notice that the whole class (except for their teacher, who was fortunately still absent after the final bell) was looking at her, and she shuffled meekly behind Roxas slightly.

"Roxas," Sora began, "how come my tie is awesome while yours is crap?"

His Nobody didn't even look down to acknowledge his somewhat slacker appearance. "Because, while Kairi's dad was busy teaching you how to tie the slugger, I was thinking of something else," he said.

Kairi looked at Roxas with slightly narrowed eyes and he looked at her. "Yes Kairi. Seymour taught Sora how to properly tie his tie last night while you and Naminé, because that's obviously what she was doing, were in the shower and I _was_ thinking of something else while he was being taught."

Sora cocked his head slightly to the side and gained eye contact with his Nobody. _Naminé?_

Naminé's head flicked to Roxas with a clear blush growing on her pale cheeks. "Me?"

Roxas blushed and threw Sora a look that said, 'traitor' as plainly as Sora's sense of embarrassment at forgetting that when Naminé was out in the open she could hear his thoughts as easily as Roxas could at anytime, if he was paying attention.

"Yeah," he said, smiling through his blush, "you."

A few of the girls in the class cooed the word, "Awww…" at Roxas' words and Tay poked Sora in the back. "Hey Sora, what's going on?" he asked. "Who are they?"

A louder voice broke into all of their ears from the door as Jean finally walked in. "Settle down class. I apologize for being late. Let's get attend—" She stopped as her eyes picked up Roxas and Naminé and Kairi standing frozen in front of Saji's desk. "Kairi please take your seat. Who are you two?"

_Damn, too late!_ Roxas said.

Sora quickly looked at Kairi as a wicked idea came into his head. It must have shown, because when he caught her eye, they became just as fiendish. "Oh, Jean!" Kairi began, acting like she'd just remembered something very important. "We forgot to introduce you yesterday, but you actually have two more students in your class."

"I beg your pardon?" Jean asked.

Naminé was shaking her head. "Kairi, Sora," she whispered nervously, "please don't do this."

Sora stood up, trying very hard not to laugh or let an obscenely large smile come to his face. "Yes, uh, you'll be able to read all about it when Kairi and I hand in our assignments tomorrow, but due to a weird twist of fate and circumstance—"

"Sora!" Roxas exclaimed. "Don't do this!"

"You mean like sacrificing yourself and becoming a Heartless in order to give me back my heart?" Kairi asked lightly, ignoring Roxas as Sora got to standing next to her.

She was smiling at him as she said it, and Sora was unable to restrain his own smile. "Yeah, that's it. Anyway, due to a weird twist of fate and circumstance you now get to teach two Soras and two Kairis."

"Huh?" said the entire class.

"I'm still Kairi," began the auburn-haired girl, "but this lovely young lady right here, oh stop being so timid Naminé, is my Nobody Naminé."

"And this guy is Roxas," Sora explained, grabbing hold of him and presenting him to the class like it was 'show-and-tell' from kindergarten. "And he's my Nobody. You can think of them like alter-egos or different personalities that are technically still us."

"I'm going to kill you for this Sora," Roxas grumbled.

Sora raised one eyebrow. "Why? School isn't so bad."

"I can still summon my Keyblades," the male Nobody warned in a whisper.

"Save the beating for fourth block Roxas and suck it up," Kairi said, rolling her eyes. "Think about this for one second. I know for a fact that even though Naminé and I are already very close maybe like twin sisters, that her dearest wish is to be whole again. It's probably the same with you, am I right?"

"Of course!" he answered enthusiastically. Roxas glanced at Sora. "No offence."

Kairi continued before Sora could respond verbally, though he thought, _None taken._ "Well if you become whole again," she said, "you're going to have to go to school. So why not jump the gun and start now?"

Naminé looked at Roxas after a second. "She's got a very good point Roxas."

He looked like her was in pain when he answered. "I know, but Naminé, we got to gloat yesterday when we didn't have to do this and they did."

"Technically we still had to sit through the classes," Naminé told him.

"But we didn't have to pay attention," Roxas reminded her. "We could nap, daydream, spend time together when they were in the same class, do whatever because we were in their hearts and not in a desk."

"But," Naminé started quietly, "but I think I want to do it…" Sora and Kairi looked at her and looked at Roxas, who now appeared lost and had every eye on him. Every boy was now sympathizing with him because they could all tell at a glance his dilemma: Freedom, or the girl? There was no doubt in anyone's mind what he would choose.

"Fine!" Roxas groaned. "I'll do it!"

Jean looked like everything was going completely over her head and shook it. "All four of you can go to the Principal's office and sort it out," she said. "Come back to class when you're done."

They nodded and Sora grabbed his bag before they marched out of the classroom, stopping only for Jean to give Kairi a note, and Roxas muttered, "I'm still going to kill you two for this."

Sora snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

-A-D-

The process was a lot harder and took a lot longer than any of them expected. Riku had to be brought out of class and phone calls were sent out to the parents. The mayor was, of course, too busy at the moment to come and attempt to assist in sorting things out, and so was Anne (as Head Chef she had a lot of responsibility in her line of work). Yuffie and Axel were both brought into the office as well, as replacements who could explain things a little better, and the conversation between Kairi's mother and the former Nobody who had kidnapped her had been a sight to behold (or would have been, had everyone in the vicinity not been too terrified to watch).

Everything was finally sorted out mid-way through second block, Phys-Ed class for Sora and Kairi (and now Roxas and Naminé as for the rest of the day they would have the same timetables), and Advanced Combat Mastery 30 for Riku. There would be a staff meeting after school that the fivesome would be forced to attend to explain the situation to the other staff members, and only one other issue was left that still had to be addressed.

"How are we gonna do this?" Roxas asked.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked him back. "You sit in a desk and you—"

"Take notes," Roxas finished pointedly. "With pens and pencils, you know, _physical_ objects!" He passed his hand through a pen on the Principal's desk to emphasize the point.

Sora groaned and placed his head in one hand. "Have you already forgotten when we got into that big fight last week because we were bored?"

Roxas blinked. "I blocked it out."

"Because I beat you, again," Sora replied smugly. The Oblivion appeared in his right hand in a flash and he quickly threw it at Roxas, saying, "Catch!"

The blonde's right hand darted out and snatched the obsidian blade out of the air by the hilt. As his transparent fingers came into contact with the mystical weapon they suddenly became solid, as did the rest of his body within a tenth of a second.

Everyone excluding Sora and Roxas looked at the Nobody in surprise and Roxas rapped his knuckles on the wooden desk behind him, making a very solid knocking sound. He looked back at Sora skeptically. "Sure, like you're going to have me and Naminé hold onto a Keyblade the whole time that we're in class and have to do something."

"You could wear a belt and hook it in there," Axel said as Roxas tossed the onyx Keyblade back to Sora, and became ghost-like once more.

"So where does that leave me?" Naminé asked, looking nervously at her plaid miniskirt. She tugged it down, just a little.

"You could always try summoning a Keyblade to see if you have one," Sora said. "I mean, Kairi's got one and you're her Nobody so…"

"Are you suggesting having two students being required to carry weapons in my school?" the Principal asked.

"Not at all!" Janet said at once. "Only that the Keyblade is a truly magical weapon if it can give Roxas and maybe Naminé temporary bodies of their own, bodies that may be the only way for them to physically interact with and be involved in the school environment."

"You do make a convincing point," the Principal said. He was silent for a minute, his eyes closed in thought. He sighed and opened them. "I'll allow it, but they cannot be used as weapons outside of Combat Mastery class, and must not leave your possession. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Roxas and Naminé each said, nodding their heads.

"Now get physical and get back to class," he said, quickly motioning that they'd spent _enough_ time in his office. The Kingdom Key appeared in Roxas' right hand and Sora called the Oblivion back to him. He handed it to Naminé, who took it with more than a little apprehension. As she became physically solid and gulped while holding onto the Keyblade, Sora realized that this must have been her first time actually holding a weapon.

"How does it feel?" Kairi asked her as they quickly vacated the office.

Naminé didn't seem to be quite sure how to answer. "It feels a little bit heavy," she answered, "but at the same time, I think it's comfortable."

"I meant having a body again," Kairi said. Naminé blushed.

"Oh, well _that_ part feels good," she said.

A stomach grumbled, loudly. All eyes turned to Roxas, who did not blush ashamedly. In fact, he was positively beaming with joy.

"All right!" he exclaimed. "I'm actually hungry! Hey wait a minute, I'm hungry! Feed me!"

"We still have class you bozo," Sora told him as they got into the currently nearly empty cafeteria. "Phys-Ed, remember? You can eat afterwards."

"But I'm hungry now!" Roxas griped.

"Tough luck," Riku snorted. He turned around. "I've got to get to Combat Mastery now, see you at lunch guys."

"Alright, see you Riku," Sora said, giving him a high-five before the twelfth-grader left them.

Yuffie and Axel glanced at each other. "We're gonna have to prep for class," the female ninja told them. "We'll see you four in fourth block."

"And don't be late Roxas," Axel told the male blonde Nobody. "Got it—"

"Memorized?" Roxas finished for him, smiling at the grumpy expression on Axel's face. "Yeah, I do. And I think a rematch would be in order don't you?"

Axel's frown turned into a tiny smirk. "See you later Roxas," he said, turning away with Yuffie.

Janet looked at her watch before glancing at what could be considered both of her daughters. "I have to go back to work," she said. "Will you be okay?"

"We'll be fine Mom," Kairi said, shifting a bit closer to Naminé. "Don't worry, I'll look after her."

"Who says that I need looking after?" Naminé asked curiously.

"Uh, the fact that you only have memories and no real experience," Kairi answered after a second. Naminé nodded, realizing that Kairi had a point. Janet gave each of them hugs goodbye and ruffled her hand through Sora's hair before leaving the cafeteria, and soon after, the school grounds.

"So…" Roxas began once she was out of earshot, "do we actually go to gym class or just hang out here?"

"We're supposed to go to class," Kairi said insistently.

"But Naminé and I don't have gym clothes," Roxas countered.

Sora pondered that statement for a second. "He's got a point," he said, agreeing with Roxas. "They don't."

"Couldn't we just sit in the bleachers and watch?" Naminé asked timidly.

"Well what are we doing today?" Sora asked, looking to Kairi.

The girl's expression suddenly became rather reluctant as she fidgeted with her hair. "Track," sighed Kairi. "We have track today, and track tomorrow, and track for the next two weeks."

"And you aren't fond of track," Sora stated.

"You've known that for years Sora. I'm not the running kind of person and I don't want to throw a discus."

"And Roxas and Naminé don't have gym clothes…"

"No."

"And I could really care less either way about track."

"Well that's true, I guess."

"And class ends in… thirty minutes."

"Yeah, so there is that. We wouldn't really be doing too much."

"And you aren't fond of track."

Kairi looked up at Sora, a sparkle in her indigo eyes as she directed her gaze just off to his right. Her fingers were curling through her hair as she said, "You know, I've always wanted to skip track class, I've just never had a good enough excuse before."

The other three smiled as Kairi's eyes made contact with Sora's and a mischievous grin came onto her face.

-A-D-

When the ringing of the bell through the school to signal the beginning of fourth block rang it was to find every member of the fourth block Advanced Combat Mastery 20 class already inside of the training gymnasium, the class size now increased to sixteen by the introduction of Roxas and Naminé, making the number of males and females nine and seven respectively. Yuffie and Axel were already there as well, and were standing in front of the class as they sat on the bleachers, Riku sitting alone at the back because of his spare.

"Alright class," Axel began with the two blonde Nobodies standing in front of him, "we have two new students joining us today. Say hello to Roxas, and Naminé."

"Hey," Roxas said, waving his hand. Naminé only smiled shyly and curled her fingers slightly with a tiny wave.

"Hey!" Tidus said, looking at them with interest. "They're holding onto… what were those called again?"

"Keyblades?" Yumi asked.

Yuffie smiled. "Yes they are," she said. "And that's because Roxas and Naminé are a little bit different from the rest of you guys. Roxas, Naminé, drop 'em."

"What?" Naminé asked her. Yuffie directed her gaze to the Oblivion in Naminé's hand, the floor, and then back to the blonde's face. Naminé seemed quite reluctant, but she glanced at Roxas and he nodded, so she dropped the black weapon onto the ground.

The echoes of the metal weapons striking the wooden floor reverberated around an eerily empty gymnasium.

"Are you ghosts?" David asked.

"Nope," Sora answered him, rising and walking down the bleachers towards Roxas and Naminé. "They're Nobodies."

"Nobodies?" Val asked, intrigued. "What's a Nobody?"

"A Nobody is a being without a heart," Kairi said, smiling and patting Naminé on the shoulder as she came up to the female blonde. "They have the body and soul of a person who turned into a Heartless, but Naminé and Roxas are a bit different. They're Nobodies who've joined with their Somebodies, and so are whole, in a way, and sharing hearts with us."

"Us?" Kia asked, slowly rising from her seat at the bottom of the bleachers and taking a tentative step towards Roxas and Naminé as Sora and Kairi stood beside the two blondes with Yuffie and Axel behind.

"Sora and Kairi are their Somebodies," Riku said from the back of the bleachers. "So they are sharing hearts with Roxas and Naminé. And that's as much as you lot need to know. Just treat them like you'd treat anyone else in the class."

"Who are you to tell us to do anything?" David asked him, looking up at the silver-haired teen a grade above him.

Riku glanced down at David, and his hand flashed with light as Way to the Dawn's curved blade appeared in his hand. "Do you really want to press the issue?" he countered.

"You too?" Selphie asked in amazement. Riku nodded his head as his Keyblade vanished.

The golden-brown-haired girl Kia took another couple of steps towards Roxas and Naminé, and smiled. "Well, I'm not sure I understand all of this," she began, "but if it means that we've got two more classmates then I'm all for it. I'm Kia, daughter of Ken and Lianne. It's nice to meet you Naminé."

Naminé smiled shyly and reached down to grasp the handle of the Oblivion again to turn her body into a solid mass. Then she took Kia's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you too Kia," she returned.

Axel came forward and broke the five people in front of him and Yuffie apart. "Alright, that's enough you guys. We're starting class now. Sora, Princess, you're going into the simulator today for a little bit of extra-special training. The rest of you are out here with us, got it memorized? Now go to the equipment room and get your gear."

"Don't call me Princess Axel," Kairi moaned. Axel smirked and his palms became gloved in fire as his spiked red and white chakrams blazed into them.

"That's _Mr._ Axel Kairi," he returned.

Sora turned to Naminé as the rest of the class clattered off of the bleachers and down to the gymnasium floor, heading to the small room to their right. "Sorry Naminé," he said guiltily, looking at his shoes, "but I'm gonna need my Keyblade back, since it's Axe – Mr. Axel who set up the simulator."

There was a sudden pat on his shoulder and he turned to see Riku standing next to him with a small smile. "Don't worry about it," the older youth said, summoning Way to the Dawn into his hand and handing it to Naminé. The blonde gave Sora the Oblivion and he looked at Riku.

"Everything's ready," the silver-haired boy whispered, "and I'll be in the control room. By the way, you're such a total sap."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Sora returned, shoving him away slightly as they went to join Kairi, who was already by the door to the simulation chamber. "You're just jealous."

"Ooh, so I'm jealous am I?" Riku laughed. "Maybe I am, and maybe I'm not. Maybe I will be, and maybe I won't be. But it still won't change the fact that you're a total sap."

"Bite me," Sora told him, playfully irritated.

"Um…"

Both boys looked at Kairi, who was shifting slightly and biting her bottom lip nervously. They knew that look. "How do I actually summon my Keyblade?" the girl asked.

"You mean that you haven't – wait, no, you haven't called it have you?" Sora asked. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess you just think about it, and will it to come into your hand from your heart."

"That's it?" Kairi asked him.

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "I guess…"

"You mean you don't know, Mister Keyblade Master?" Kairi asked, astounded and patronizing at the same time.

"Hey cut me some slack!" Sora answered. "I was a bit too busy back then to think about how I do it, I just do."

"Enough chit-chat," Axel said, coming over to them. "Sora, Kairi, into the simulation chamber. Riku, I'm assuming you know how to run the beast?"

"Yeah," he answered quickly.

"Good," said Axel. "Run simulation program # 48. When they're done that one, do follow through with programs #51-#55 until the end of the class."

"So we're in there for the whole time?" Kairi asked, both excited and apprehensive.

"And is there a problem with that?" Axel asked her.

"No, but, I can't quite remember what happens if we, well, 'die' or fall unconscious."

"The simulation cuts out and you wake back up on the floor," Axel answered her. "But you'll be in a mess of pain and exhaustion, so don't die in there. Now get!"

-A-D-

Inside, the room was a rectangular metal-lined box. Blue cables wound their way over the floors, walls and ceiling, and many small green and red lights cast their light into the room in addition to the large recessed ceiling light in the exact centre of the room. Sora glanced to the large window of the control room along the same wall as the door that had just closed behind him and Kairi. Riku was in there, just sitting down behind a computer console. He was glad that it was Riku, because he knew that while he wasn't bad with computers, he wasn't great with them either, and Riku would be able to complete his plan when it came time for that.

He growled slightly at the thought. Riku was right, he was a sap.

The older teen flicked a switch inside of the control room and spoke into a microphone, his voice entering the chamber from speakers above the window. "Are you both ready?" he asked.

"Just get it over with," Kairi sighed, flexing her hand repeatedly as she stared at it, no Keyblade appearing within her grasp yet.

Riku nodded and appeared to be performing some task on the computer, and then they could no longer see him as the walls, ceiling, and floor began to glow with white light.

Suddenly they were standing in a grassy valley; jagged, dark red rocks formed a broken ring around them. The Sun was high in the partially cloudy sky, and on all sides moderately sloped hills surrounded them in the dell they occupied, though they were actually higher up than the extent of the hills' descent. The broken rock-ring that Sora and Kairi stood upon was a flat plateau, with what could be taken as a trench encompassing their tiny hillock.

Sora gulped as he looked at the foreboding position that he and Kairi occupied. If something were to come down the hills towards them they would lose sight of their attacker as it dropped down beneath them, or become lost behind the shape of a rock.

"Sora look!" Kairi said quickly, pointing. Sora followed the direction of her leading finger and his heart plummeted as he saw something that he still held a small measure of fear of from his childhood.

An orange four-legged creature had come to the crest of the hill. Its pointed head directed up into the air, the Lupine Dingo let out a howl as it spotted them. It lowered its head, the creature's black eyes glaring down at them as it panted with a thick pink tongue lolling out between rows of sharp teeth. Then another came up beside it, and another, and then three more. Within a minute the entire horizon of surrounding hills was swarming with the fiends, their hundreds of barks and howls loud and rough.

"Oh crud," Kairi squeaked. "This is a _lot_ more than any other time I've been in here."

"Well how many have you gone up against before?" asked Sora, glancing sidelong at her.

"Well, six," Kairi answered, "and two Flans and an Ochu, but I was in a group of six at the time and it was last year's final exam. Before then I'd only gone against two lupines at the most."

"And I've only had to deal with Heartless before," Sora muttered uncomfortably. "Not fiends."

Kairi looked at him in surprise. "You haven't?"

"We didn't have a simulator at our Junior High Kairi," he reminded her. "This is my first time being in one." He stiffened. "Here they come."

With a howl that broke through all of the others, the first Dingo that had appeared gave a push of its powerful legs and instantly started to charge down the hill. The rest followed in a rushing wave of yellow hides, the entire snarling pack flowing down the slope towards the small ring where Sora and Kairi were within.

The Oblivion crackled with lightning as Sora pointed it into the air. "Thundaga!" he yelled fiercely. A thick bolt of scathingly hot electricity leapt off of his weapon and dove into the sky. Thunderbolts fell from the heavens into the throng of charging fiends. Dingoes yelped as the lightning tore into them, and their smoking bodies crashed and fell to the ground tripping up the ones behind them before their carcasses vanished in white flashes of light. The lupines had stopped pouring over the crest of the hill, but still they came on like a rolling, undulating sea of golden-brown hides and snapping jaws bent on nothing more than sinking into the juiciest parts of the students' bodies.

Sora steadied his hands on the Oblivion as he suddenly lost sight of the leaders underneath the lip of the hillock that he and Kairi were defending, and he glanced back at the girl. She was looking worriedly at her hand, clenching and unclenching it as she visibly tried to call the Keyblade that she had been using in The World That Never Was into her hand.

"Come on," she was muttering, panic starting to set in on her. "Come out already." Sora backed up so that he was just past Kairi's left shoulder and able to see her face.

"Watch my back," he said quickly, preparing himself as more and more of the Dingoes disappeared from his sight. Kairi nodded, though he could see the nervousness in her face and eyes. He gave her a small, comforting smile, and said, "Don't worry. It will come when you need it most." The corners of Kairi's mouth twitched.

A Dingo suddenly cleared the area between two of the towering rocks, leaping through the air directly towards Kairi's back. Its loud snarls drowned out the rumbling sounds of the remainder of the fiends, and its teeth were bared and glistening with saliva.

Sora twitched his wrist and threw the Keyblade at the fiend. The Oblivion's black blade whirred through the air as it spun end over end towards the Dingo's hide, and cut right through the fiend. The Dingo gave a sudden yelp before dropping to the ground with a crash and vanishing in a blast of white light. The Oblivion kept spinning through the air, cutting right through another fiend that had followed the first, and lopping a foreleg off of a second before it struck against the rock.

"Sora, behind you!" Kairi yelled suddenly. The Keyblade Master turned his head and saw a Dingo racing straight for him from behind, and there were four more coming in from his right. And his Keyblade was still out of his hand. Even if he summoned it back to him (an event that took an infinitesimal amount of time) he still wouldn't have enough time to bring it down to bear on the lupines with just how quickly they could move.

His hand flashed with white light regardless as the Oblivion vanished from the air it was falling through and reappeared in his right hand. He was turning towards his right, slashing the Keyblade through the air and the four Dingoes that were coming towards him from that direction, when he caught a flurry of movement of red hair to his left and saw a quick flash of white light, and heard Kairi give a shout.

The Dingoes that had been struck by the Oblivion as he was turning yelped and dropped onto the ground, vanishing in flashes of white light as the simulated foes were defeated. Directly in front of him now was the Dingo that had lunged for his back, stopped in midair with a blade through its belly.

Kairi flung the lupine off of her weapon and flicked it out to her right side as the creature vanished within the air. Sora looked at the blade. It had a black handle with a golden pommel before the key chain, and its hilt was curved into a heart with one side changing from a sandy grey into blue and then into the white of a breaking wave that emerged upon the metal. The other side was also sand grey as it wove its way up the shaft in a ribbon for a while, the shaft of the blade changing from a bright yellow to a deep red, melting into the multi-coloured flowers that formed the key.

"So what do you call that thing?" Sora asked, smiling and turning around as they were left in peace for a few seconds.

"It's Island's Fire," she answered, "Which reminds me, I don't know how to cast any magic. Could you teach me?"

"What, now?" Sora asked. "We're in the middle of something here."

"I just learned how to summon my Keyblade in the midst of a battle," Kairi reminded him smugly. "Why can't I learn magic in one too?"

Howls erupted all around them as the lupine sea outside of their ring of rocks surged, and the creatures in their yellow-orange hides raced up their tiny defensible hillock to tear the two Keyblade Wielders apart with their teeth and claws.

"Okay, you're getting the most rushed magic lesson in the history of magic," Sora announced quickly as their foes appeared again. "For a start, its easiest to use magic if you channel it through a magical weapon, like Donald's magical staff or our Keyblades. If you're performing elemental magic, you have to feel the element; _be_ the element! Like this: fire!" Sora held his Keyblade horizontally in front of him, and raging fireballs appeared in a ring around both himself and Kairi, striking against the lupines that had leapt towards them, eliciting pained yelps from the fiends as their hides burned and they were flung back into the masses of their comrades.

"Once you have," Sora continued, swiping his Keyblade through two oncoming Dingoes, "the element is yours to control and master, and you can do any number of things with it if you have the imagination. You can do what I just did, or shoot fireballs, or whatever." He groaned as four Dingoes leapt straight for him, and all that he was able to do was position the Oblivion to block them, and the weight of the four dropped the Keyblade Master onto the ground.

Their snapping, snarling jaws were all around him, the putrid breath of the fiends causing his stomach to turn, but their claws that raked at the ground and the teeth that bit for his face all missed their mark as Sora struggled for a moment before pushing their bodies off of him. He cut through them with the Oblivion, and turned his head as he heard Kairi give a loud shout of: "Fire!"

The flowery key and heart-shaped hilt of her Keyblade was shrouded by a thin coil of flame encircling her weapon. The fires sheathed her blade and reared above her head before it dropped onto the ground and raced around the two Wielders, burning the Dingoes around them caught in it into cinders and causing the others to back up and pace warily a few feet away from the licking tongues of the encircling ribbon.

"Whoa," Sora said, looking at the auburn-haired Princess of Heart in amazement as she began to shudder slightly, struggling to maintain control of the fires around them. When he'd first learned the fire spell from Donald back during his first visit to Wonderland he'd only shot off fireballs the size of his fist, and now here was Kairi with her first usage of the same spell creating a thin barrier of flame around them, blackening and charring the grass that they stood upon. He glanced again at her Keyblade. Island's Fire indeed.

Kairi dropped onto one knee and the encircling ribbon died. She was panting heavily, and clutching at her chest with her left hand. The Dingoes raced forwards again, sensing the girl's weakness, but Sora stood protectively in front of her.

"Reflega!"

A sudden dome of crystal-clear honeycomb-patterned segments formed a shell around both Sora and Kairi. The fiends crashed headlong into the barrier, and found to their dismay with their loud _thuds_ and _cracks_ that it was quite solid. Many of them broke their necks when they smote their heads against the barrier, and so disappeared in white light as they dropped, defeated, to the ground. The others shook themselves to try and rid themselves of the shock they'd incurred.

Sora glanced down at Kairi and smiled proudly. "That was amazing Kai!" he told her.

Kairi shook her head wearily. "It was stupid," she answered. "I barely have the strength to stand now."

"No it wasn't stupid!" Sora told her, sitting on his knees next to her, the thought of maintaining the level three 'reflect' spell in the back of his mind. "That was a thousand times better and more impressive than the first time I used magic."

"Really?" Kairi asked skeptically, looking at him. "But you're the Keyblade Master."

Sora smiled more tenderly and placed his left hand on Kairi's shoulder; he laid the Oblivion down on the grass that was still green next to them. "Kairi," he began, holding out his right hand. A small ball of fire appeared floating within the palm of it. "When I first learned how to use magic, _this_ was the extent of my ability with it. This little, tiny, fireball was the only thing that I could dish out." He let it dissipate and peter out. "You're amazing," he added, blushing slightly.

Kairi was looking at him now with gratitude, and she had a slight blush herself. Sora gazed at her and he knew that it was time.

"Riku," he called out suddenly. "I think we're done with this. It's time."

"You romantic sap."

"Shut up and do it," Sora said, rising as the entire simulated world vanished in a display of white light. He held out a hand to Kairi as their Keyblades vanished, a hand that she grasped in confusion.

-A-D-

Yuffie looked up from where she had been observing Naminé and Brittany dueling with one another. Naminé was, to tell the truth, not too great. She suffered from lacking confidence in herself as well as not being very proficient in the first place. She was learning how to read her enemy's movements, but slowly. At the start of the class she'd only been able to block one move before being defeated. Now she was losing in three.

It didn't matter too much, because the whole class had pretty much ground to a halt after Axel and Roxas had started to battle. The intensity between them was hot enough to set the gymnasium on fire as they tried to set the record straight. In fact, it almost _was_ on fire.

"Hey Axel!" Yuffie called. "I'm going to go check on our two simulator students!"

The Flurry of Dancing Flames blocked a falling Oathkeeper from the Key of Destiny with a chakram before slicing out towards the blonde's chest with the other. "Go right ahead! I've got things covered in here."

Yuffie nodded her head and bounded off towards the door to the control room. She opened it and Riku turned to look at her with the expression of someone who just got caught doing something that they weren't supposed to be doing. "Hey Riku," she said, not noticing at first the alignment of his facial features, "how're they doi—Riku, why are they not still in some program?"

"Sora's got this crazy romantic idea of how he's going to tell Kairi that he loves her," Riku answered.

Yuffie looked at him in surprise for a moment before grinning widely, to the sixteen-year-old's apparent delight. "Ooh, this is going to be good," she announced, plopping herself down on a chair next to him to watch.

-A-D-

Sora helped the auburn-haired princess to her feet, but did not let go when she was back upon them. He immediately saw that she was even more confused by this, and his heart began to beat faster as butterfly nerves came to him.

"Kairi," he began softly, "there's something that I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, but I haven't been quite sure how to say it. So, I'm going to apologize right now because I can't sing it quite as well as he can."

"What?" Kairi asked, likely completely bewildered by his behaviour. She was obviously thinking that he was about to tell her that he loved her, and he was, in a way, and would say it himself, after they had finished what he had planned.

The music of a guitar softly strumming started to play through the same speakers that a person in the control room talked through, and Kairi's eyes opened wider as she recognized it. Sora was glad, she knew the song. And then her eyes began to water slightly while her lips turned into a huge smile as Sora took her other hand in his and began to sway slightly, implying that he would like her to dance with him.

_This time, this place,  
Misused, mistakes,  
Too long, too late,  
Who was I to make you wait?_

_Just one chance, just one breath,  
Just in case there's just one left.  
_'_Cause you know,  
You know, you know:_

_That I love you; I have loved you all along.  
And I miss you, been far away for far too long.  
I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go.  
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore._

Sora's right hand left Kairi's and he brought it down to cup her back and bring her closer to him. He could see her shimmering indigo eyes clearly, and they were so filled with happiness and love that he could barely keep himself from crying in bliss.

"When did you learn to dance?" Kairi asked, hopelessly shaking her head.

"While I was away."

_On my knees, I'll ask,  
Last chance for one last dance.  
_'_Cause with you, I'd withstand,  
All of them to hold your hand._

_I'd give it all, I'd give for us,  
Give anything but I won't give up.  
_'_Cause you know,  
You know, you know:_

_That I love you; I have loved you all along.  
And I miss you, been far away for far too long.  
I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go.  
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore._

Kairi's head came in and rested against Sora's shoulder along with her hands, while both of his gently went against her back. Their feet continued to shuffle this way and that as they danced slowly, revolving on the spot. But both of them simply inhaled the peaceful air as the romantic song serenaded them, expressing everything that both of them had felt over the past year while they had been separated.

_So far away (so far away), been far away for far too long.  
So far away (so far away), been far away for far too long.  
But you know,  
You know, you know:_

_I wanted,  
I wanted you to stay.  
_'_Cause I needed,  
I need to hear you say:_

_I love you (I love you); I have loved you all along.  
And I forgive you (and I forgive you), for being away for far too long.  
So keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore.  
Believe it, hold on to me, never let me go._

Sora pulled Kairi away from him slightly, and he looked into her loving eyes for the briefest of moments before closing his and softly pressing his lips against hers. Her lips were soft and moist, and they still tasted faintly of strawberries. Sora no longer became aware of his hands as one left her back and cupped the back of her head, and Kairi's were pressing against his shoulders and clutching at his hair.

His heart was roaring as a volcano erupting within him, finally being allowed to let all of his love for the girl in his arms pour out of him in a kiss as light as the sunlight falling on a flower petal. Kairi's touch burned through the white fabric of his uniform shirt and made his skin tingle and race with magical passion.

Her lips kissed him back, their motions caressing his own with tender passion that had been checked for so long.

_Keep breathing, cause I'm not leaving you anymore.  
Believe it, hold on to me, never let me go.  
Keep breathing, hold on to me, never let me go.  
Keep breathing, hold on to me, never let me go._

They did not notice the song ending, if only for a brief moment where they ceased and withdrew, smiling more wholesomely at one another than they'd ever done before in their lives. "I love you Kairi," Sora whispered, his heart screaming in triumph at having finally said aloud the words he'd been dying to say to her.

"And I love you Sora," Kairi replied, tears of happiness staining her cheeks. "I've loved you since before we started building that silly raft. Please, tell me that this is real and that I'm not dreaming."

Sora smiled and placed his forehead against hers. "I think it's real. Just tell me that I'm not the one who's dreaming." His words were followed by his lips and accompanied by the heavenly feel of once more tenderly kissing and being kissed by the person that they had fallen in love with since their first meeting.

-A-D-

Riku, Yuffie, Axel, Roxas, Naminé, and the entire class had managed to squish and squash their way into the control room to the simulation chamber. Yuffie had a digital camera out and was examining the picture she had managed to take of the twosome's first kiss, and behind her everyone was either shaking their heads or laughing or crying or celebrating at how the two had finally come together. It was a moment that more than a few of them had been waiting a long time for.

Roxas and Naminé looked at each other. Roxas was smirking, and Naminé raised her eyebrows. It was only a matter of seconds later that he had taken her into his arms and dipped Naminé, their lips embracing before Roxas' began to gently caress Naminé's.

"Your technique's improved," Naminé noted, smiling as Roxas pulled away for a small moment, the attention now half-drawn towards her and him, and half on Sora and Kairi.

"Sora and I had some practice last night," Roxas answered.

Naminé's eyes became as wide as dinner plates and the room quickly fell silent. "What?" she asked.

"You and Sora were _kissing_?" Riku spat. "My respect for both of you just plummeted. I am sickened!"

"Roxas how could you!?" Axel asked.

"That would have been so hott!" Brittany said.

"On strawberries!" Roxas retorted, his face red as the fruit he had named. "We were practicing by kissing _strawberries_ you sickos!!"

"Oh."

Naminé placed a hand on Roxas' cheek and he looked at her again. She was smiling again and blushing coyly. "Then, after school, can you pretend that I'm a strawberry?"

"Definitely," Roxas answered, bringing his lips down on hers once more.

-A-D-

_And there's the re-written chapter seven. No great re-enactment of the battle against Xemnas; no Kairi falling unconscious and Sora confessing his love over her apparently knocked-out body. There was nothing of that sort in here, just a short bout with a bunch of fiends, Nickelback's most romantic song, and their confessions to one another._

_I think it was better than the last one._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	8. The Party

_And here's chapter VII's re-written version. Enjoy._

_Canada. Russia. Right now. I can say nothing else while the fate of the world hangs in the balance._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, or anything else that is not original used in this piece of fanfiction._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter VIII: The Party

Kairi was humming absently to herself as she strolled in through the door of her home that evening. There was a small, permanent smile stuck to her face as the event continued to run through her mind. There she and Sora had been, slowly dancing together to _Far Away_ by Nickelback, and then kissing and sitting together in heavenly bliss in a simulated landscape of a flowery meadow overlooking the sea for the rest of the period. Kairi had been so happy to hear the words that she had longed to hear leave Sora's lips that her joy kept her in perpetual bliss throughout the long staff meeting she had been forced to attend. She knew that it was about the important aspect of Roxas and Naminé attending classes, and that her Nobody was currently trying to engage the red-headed Princess of Radiant Garden in conversation about it, but Kairi was giddy to a power of four and dreaming so wistfully, romantically, and exotically that a feather could have knocked her over.

She passed her father as he sat on the couch in the living room, watching the spherevision screen as the channel was set to the news. "Welcome home Kairi," he said. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. How was school today?"

"Huh?" Kairi asked, just noticing that he was there and talking to him.

"How was school today?" Seymour repeated, looking up at his foster-daughter.

"Oh," Kairi responded, actually hearing him this time. The memory came back and her reply was as dreamy and wistful as a soft summer breeze. "It was wonderful," she said, turning away towards the stairs to get her to her room.

Seymour raised his blonde eyebrows as he watched the red-haired girl leave his presence. Turning the SV off, he rose from the couch and entered their combination kitchen/dining room. His wife was in there, stirring something in a pot on the stove that smelled delicious.

"So apparently our daughter says that school was wonderful today," he said, kissing the side of her neck and wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh it was, was it?" she asked, turning her head around to look into his eyes while she smiled warmly. "Did 'wonderful' have anything to do with Sora?"

"Hm, she didn't say," Seymour answered cryptically. "However, I think he took some initiative from what I told him last night."

"And that was…?"

Seymour chuckled slightly. "I told him to kiss her."

"You didn't? Did you?"

Seymour nodded his head proudly. "I did. I told him that I only wanted Kairi to be happy, and that he's the one who would make her the happiest. So, with how Kairi was acting when she came in and answered, I believe that he did."

"And how was she acting?" Janet asked, still smiling.

"Like she'd just been struck by one of Eros' arrows," Seymour answered her. He kissed his wife on the lips before turning her around and sinking until his head was level with her belly. "Hey little guy," he whispered, "do you think that we should tell your older sister about you yet?"

"I think that we should," Janet told him. "And make today a day of nothing but happiness for her."

-A-D-

Sora was walking briskly along the road towards Kairi's house the next morning. His spirits were high, the Sun was shining brightly in the sky, and he'd managed to finish all of his homework (especially his English assignment) in a mad rush through the night until eleven-thirty, by which point he was tired enough to drop onto his bed and fall asleep within minutes, and dream contentedly about Kairi in an unbroken slumber until morning. Roxas was walking along with him with the Oblivion tucked under a belt, making him whole. He was, glum, but also excited. He'd gotten his own timetable for school and his own classes, as had Naminé; it had been ruled that they would be allowed to carry Keyblades in class for the purpose of being able to participate fully in activities, so long as they never left their person, allowed another student to carry them, or used them as a weapon or threatening manner towards another student or member of the faculty.

He arrived at the turning to take him up the third hill towards Kairi's house, and when he held his hand up a little bit to block the Sun's light from blinding him, he noticed something odd happening in front of the girl's house: there was a small group of people with their backs turned to him standing there.

"Wonder what's going on?" Roxas asked. "They can't all be there to congratulate Kairi and you on becoming boyfriend and girlfriend can they?"

"Well I still have to actually ask her to be my girlfriend," Sora mumbled with narrowing eyes, "but that can't be it, because I don't see a single girl in that group. And all of them look to be older than us."

Kairi's voice suddenly rose up from within the middle of the pack. "Go away Bob! I told you already, I'm not your girlfriend!"

"But you are doll," Bob's drawl drifted to Sora and Roxas, louder than Kairi's. "You've just forgotten." A resounding _smack_ filled the air followed by a sudden distressed cry. "You liked that, didn't you?" Bob's voice asked, sounding pleased.

"If he just hit Kairi, he's dead," Sora said, springing forwards up the hill with Roxas at his side.

"If they've done anything to Naminé, they're _all_ dead!" his Nobody added.

Bob's voice and the voices of the throng of people that were keeping Sora's view of Kairi obscured started to rise in laughter. "So where's your little snot 'boyfriend' now Kairi?" Bob asked. "Off pleasing some other girl?"

"He's right here jackass!" Sora said darkly, his voice loud and clear. The teenagers that separated him from Kairi and her tormenter parted the ring to allow Bob and Kairi to see him clearly. There were around twelve muscled guys including Bob in total, creating a ring around the twelfth-grade Blitzball player and the auburn-haired Princess of Heart. Naminé was nowhere in sight, which Sora and Roxas took as a blessing. The sandy-blonde-haired teenager held both of Kairi's wrists in a single hand above her head, and had one hand across her cheek: a very red cheek that looked as if someone had just recently slapped it.

"Ooh, look who's here precious," Bob said teasingly, tugging on her bound arms, "it's Sora."

"Hey Kairi, can I ask you something?" Sora asked quickly, seeing the newfound look of victory in Kairi's eyes and knowing that everything was going to be alright in the end, even though the red mark on Kairi's cheek was making his heart burn with anger.

"It's a bad time to be asking anything, but go ahead," Kairi said.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" Sora asked her.

Kairi nearly laughed as she smiled and looked into the sky. "Oh, yes, yes, a thousand times: yes! Now can you get rid of these bozos for me?"

"Bozos!?" Bob snarled.

"Yeah, bozos you retarded monkey," Roxas said.

"Alright, squash the twerps."

Sora and Roxas widened their stances as each of them dropped their backpacks. "Hey Roxas," Sora whispered, "did you also inherit the unarmed combat training I got back in Land of Dragons from Shang?"

"Now's a good time to find out," Roxas answered, cracking his knuckles.

Bob's thugs started to advance quickly towards the pair and Sora surprised them all by Quick-Running straight through the mob towards Bob himself, and punched him squarely in the face. Three of the eleven people that Bob had brought with him turned towards Sora, while the rest continued on to Roxas.

"Oh don't worry," Roxas griped lightly, "I'll just sit back here and take care of most of them while you go and save the Princess. Don't mind me—was that a punch?" Roxas asked, stopping a fist from hitting his face with his left hand. His right quickly came onto the arm while his left grasped tightly around the larger teen's wrist and he threw him over his shoulder to slam him into the pavement. He ducked underneath another punch thrown inexpertly by one of the goons and blocked two more with his forearms. Roxas went down onto his hands and swept his legs out towards their knees in a strong kick. He met resistance at each leg, but he followed through and brought three more of the seven standing goons down onto the ground. He rose back up with an uppercut to the chin of a particularly tall one, knocking the person a foot into the air before felling him. The three that were still standing were backing away slightly, looking wary of him.

Sora's punch to Bob's face had freed Kairi, and he subsequently kicked Bob in the chest. His sneaker sunk into the gut of the bully, but he didn't stop it there. Giving a loud yell Sora ripped his right leg towards the left, and sent Bob flying into the trunk of a tree.

He looked towards the three goons that were rushing towards him and quickly held him hand out towards them, tiny electric sparks crackling from his fingertips. "Thunder."

The three stopped, grimacing and groaning in pain and surprise from the small electric shock that they were receiving as small jolts of lightning shot out of Sora's hand to strike them. Sora stopped it and the Keyblade Master bowed in front of Kairi and held out his hand. "My lady," he began, "I think that it is time for us to… fly out of this place."

"I think so too," Kairi giggled, looking down at her watch. "We're going to be late for school." She took Sora's hand and the two of them rose up into the air.

"And that's for making me worry about Naminé!" Roxas said, clocking the final goon who was standing between the eyes. He looked up as Sora and Kairi drifted over the groaning and moaning bodies to land next to him. "So can I get a thank you?" he asked.

"For what?" Sora countered.

Roxas gestured with his hand. "For doing all the work here."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Didn't you listen to what Axel and Yuffie said? The King said that I had to be protected, so this is part of your job description."

"What?" Roxas asked, picking up his backpack and putting it over his shoulders. He readjusted the Oblivion on his belt. "Don't I get a thank-you-for-saving-me-kiss?"

Kairi shook her head and gave one to Sora on his cheek. "Not from me," she told him. "Hey Naminé, are you ready yet?"

Kairi glowed with golden light for a second before Naminé came out, dressed in the girls' version of the school uniform. "Yes mother, I'm ready," she answered. A brown bag with a shoulder strap was slung across her neck and a white belt was across her hips. Island's Fire appeared in Kairi's grasp and she handed it to the blonde, who instantly went from being transparent to solid. Naminé took the Keyblade and struggled for a moment to get the weapon between her skin and the belt, but she accomplished it and got it to fit snugly in place.

Smiling to herself, Naminé looked up and shuffled shyly towards Roxas. "Thank you Roxas," she said, grasping his nicely tied tie in her hands and pulling his head and neck closer for her to lightly place a kiss on his lips.

"A little recognition is all I wanted," he replied, giving her a kiss in return.

Kairi sighed. "Alright, let's go or we're gonna be late. Oh wait! I have great news."

"We know," Sora and Roxas announced simultaneously with identical grins on their faces as they stepped over the groaning and moaning goons. "Congratulations Kairi."

"How'd you know?" she asked, stunned and surprised at the revelation.

"Your dad told Sora after he told him that he would wholeheartedly approve if Sora wanted you to become his girlfriend," Roxas answered.

"Roxas…" Sora murmured.

"Aw, he ruined the surprise!" Naminé said. "Kairi and I wanted to tell you. I'm so excited! I'm going to be an older sister!"

"_We're_ going to be older sisters!" Kairi squealed. She and Naminé hugged while Sora and Roxas gave each other shifty looks.

-A-D-

The school day passed relatively uneventfully. And 'uneventfully' was assuming that Selphie and Brittany had not seen Sora and Kairi share their first proper kiss, or overhear their confessions of love for one another, or any number of things that revolved around the two becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. As it was, those things did happen, and when they arrived at the school there was a huge crowd of their friends and teachers waiting for them at the doors with wooden white latticed arches, bushels of roses of almost every imaginable colour (not baskets or bouquets, _bushels_), statues of Eros and Aphrodite, banners declaring that Sora and Kairi were now a couple, and so many images of hearts that it would make anyone's retinas burn with the sheer degree of pink and red that they were being exposed to.

"Why is this such a big deal?" Roxas asked.

"Beats me," Kairi answered shrugging. "But…" she dawdled, linking her hand in Sora's, "I guess that it was a long time coming."

"A long time coming is right!" Selphie squealed, rushing up to Kairi and hugging her. Sora laughed as Kairi strained to stay alive with how tightly the brunette was squeezing her. When the hyper-active girl released Kairi from her bone-crushing embrace, she had a white dress in her hands and was smiling brightly at the red-head with her green eyes. "Here Kairi, put this on!"

Kairi's eyes went wide in shock for a second as her face slowly became increasingly deeper shades of red. "We're just dating Selphie, we're not getting married!"

"Ma-married?" Sora asked, looking at the dress frightfully. "Don't tell me that you've already got a wedding planned Selphie…"

"Well, I have had a lot of time while you both have been beating around the bush," the girl answered.

"Okay Selphie, that's enough," Riku said, dragging her away from them by the back of her collar. "You can scare them with wedding plans at the party that's being thrown here for them after school."

"What?" Naminé asked. "There's a party?"

"These romantics like Selphie take everything to extremes," Riku muttered in reply.

-A-D-

The party that Riku had mentioned began immediately after school that day, and Sora and Kairi were (naturally) the guests of honour for the event. A DJ booth had been set up to blast music, tables that groaned from the massive weight of punch, snacks, cake, and other assorted goodies stood all across the lawn, small standing garden lights had been installed throughout the flowerbeds and near the trees in front of the school, and large poles with connecting lines between them defined a sizable square of the lawn that was occupied by a number of dancing students.

But the two guests of honour and their close friends, family, and Nobodies were nowhere near the 'dance floor' as the Sun's light vanished from the world underneath the oceans to the west and dark clouds rolled in overhead on a slight, warm sea-breeze. They were instead congregated around a couple of the wooden tables that were upon the grounds and used by students during their lunch hour and spares. They sat underneath the branches of a tall poplar tree, its boughs reaching like grasping fingers to touch the stars.

Sora sat with Kairi next to him, and Roxas and Naminé were mirroring them from across the table. Riku was sitting on Kairi's right, with Yuffie to his and Axel directly across the table from him. At the other table sat Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. They were all talking, laughing, drinking, eating, kissing (in the case of the two couples), telling tales of magic, Keyblades, and adventure, and otherwise cooling off and recovering from dancing for several hours straight.

Seymour, Janet, and Anne had all come at their children's behest when they returned home from school quickly to drop off their stuff and change clothes, and the three adults were sitting at a table further away, watching them and the celebrations with smiles of amusement and memory.

"This reminds me of the party we threw when Alicia and Devon finally got together," Seymour said wistfully.

"No," Anne told him. "This is more like Bradley and Annette's party. There are Eros statues at this one."

"Oh yeah," he said, remembering. "These ones look the same. Where did they get them from anyway?"

"After each one of our student parties to celebrate an awaited couple the decorations are kept in storage somewhere in the school," Janet said quickly. "I was on the planning committee for Nestor and Hannah," she added, answering the looks she was receiving.

"It's good to know that the tradition hasn't died," Seymour chuckled.

"Weren't you also on the planning committee for the surprise party that everyone sprung Mac and me the afternoon he asked me to Grad?" Anne asked suspiciously. Her friend smiled guiltily before intensifying it.

"There's something I've been hiding from you Anne," she admitted. "You know how I've been ill these past few weeks?"

"Yes…"

"I'm pregnant."

Anne's look was one of pure shock and joy. She wanted to congratulate her friend, but instead settled on something different. She playfully shoved the lighter brunette woman's blonde husband on the shoulder. "Seymour you old scoundrel. Congratulations to both of you. I can't express how happy I am for you. How're Kairi and Naminé taking it?"

"They're ecstatic!" Janet told her friend. "As soon as we told Kairi last night, Naminé popped out and they started to brainstorm baby names, but the first one from Kairi's lips when we asked her what the baby be if the baby was a boy was 'Sora', and then we were able to get the truth out of her from what happened between them yesterday."

"When I got home Sora had this idiotic grin plastered across his face and he told me before I had the chance to even ask him," Anne told them, giggling slightly. "He complained that Riku had called him a romantic sap, but his father had been the same way."

Janet noticed Anne's eyes beginning to water slightly. "Does it still hurt?" she asked.

Anne sighed sombrely. "There's a hole he left that refuses to be filled completely," she answered, "but…" Anne smiled and wiped the moisture from her eyes before looking at the group of teenagers that were congregated at the tables behind them. "I have Sora, so there will always be a piece of him for me to love and hold on to."

A different voice joined their conversation. "But he's the Keyblade Master," said Axel, who had left the table and had moved to talk to them. He was dressed once more in the black robes of Organization XIII, and was looking down at Anne with an expressionless face as he stood.

"He'll have to leave again miss," Axel told her, "and he'll have to leave again sooner than you expect."

"I know," Anne answered. "He's grown so much since he's been gone. Sora has strength and duties and responsibilities now that I'd never before feared him to be given. Protector of the Realm of Light from dark and evil forces, it seems too much for just one boy."

"Which is why he's got us."

Anne, Seymour, Janet, and Axel all turned around as Riku spoke the words, and the entire group of youth from the two tables was standing before them.

"We know that we're going to have to leave again," Riku apologized, "it's all part of being Keyblade Wielders and having enemies trying to take over the universe or get their hands on Kingdom Hearts."

"But that's why we're going to be sticking together as much as possible," said Kairi.

"Because if I've learned anything," Sora said, "it's that when you have your friends with you there's nothing that you can't do."

Seymour shook his head slowly. "Kairi, I don't want you leaving with them."

Kairi gave him a saddened look. "Daddy, I have to."

He sighed and smiled slightly. "I know," he told her slowly. "I know that you must. I know that the three of you must when the time comes, but, I just don't want you to go."

Kairi's eyes brightened suddenly as a new song blared from the sound system. "But it won't be anytime soon Dad! Come on Sora! It's _Hot 'n Cold_! We've gotta dance!"

"Kairi I—!"

"Tidus you too!"

"But Selphie—!"

"Guys!!"

"Fine let's go!"

With that, both teenage girls dragged the two boys away amid the laughs of their friends and the adults, leaving the others behind.

"Our little girl's all grown-up and falling in love," Janet said as she watched Kairi flee to the dance floor with Sora in tow, her eyes watering some.

"Hey Riku, wanna dance?" Yuffie asked.

The boy shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Axel's teal eyes suddenly narrowed. His hands darted out to his sides, flames flickering into life and swirling around his gloved palms. "I don't think you'll have time for dancing," he said, snatching the grips of his rapidly appearing chakrams. He leapt into the air and threw his weapons to the ground twenty feet in front of him, each of them spinning rapidly and burning fiercely. "BURN BABY!"

Both chakrams ripped and tore through the black hide and beady yellow eyes of the creeping and crawling Shadow Heartless that the former Nobody had spotted. The man dropped to the ground and caught his weapons as they flew back towards him. "Yuffie," he ordered quickly, "get back to the house; grab the weapons and get back here. Got it memorized?"

"Aye-aye Capitan Axel," she said, giving him a mock salute. Yuffie sprang backwards on her feet and flipped backwards, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke as she reached the zenith of her jump with her head pointed to the ground.

Sora and Kairi halted and turned their eyes towards where they heard Axel's war cry over the music. They spotted the red-haired Axel falling to the ground, his weapons flying back into his hands, and quickly saw that a puff of darkness was vanishing from where they had been.

"Was," Kairi started in sudden fear as she gazed, transfixed, at the spot, "was that a Heartless?"

Riku answered for him as his best friend's eyes had found them from where he remained standing. "We've got trouble Sora!" he yelled. "Shadows!" he clarified.

"Dammit!" Sora muttered under his breath. "And I was _really_ getting used to not having to fight these things. I think I saw enough of them in the streets of The World That Never Was. Yeah, I can feel them, but what are they doing here?"

The Oblivion appeared in his hands and Sora rushed off of the dance floor with Kairi at his side. Island's Fire materialized in her hands and she looked down at it as she followed the Keyblade Master away from the crowd. She started to fish her hand into her black purse with its lilac ribbons on the side as it was strapped around her waist, and in seconds she had pulled out the item she sought: her thalassa shell good luck charm keychain. Made of five shells in the shape of a star, and with a face and brown hair drawn on it, it looked a little bit like she'd made it to resemble Sora, and indeed she had. It had given him luck on his last journey, and had brought him back to her, so perhaps it would give her luck now.

Kairi switched out the paopu fruit keychain attached to the pommel of Island's Fire and at once the blade transformed into the angelic white Keyblade, Oathkeeper. Kairi gave an experimental swipe of the weapon in front of her, and found that she was quite satisfied with it.

More than a few people had noticed Sora and Kairi taking off with weapons in hand, or Axel yelling for something to burn at the top of his lungs, and they were now noticing that the wind which before had been warm had become chill and rough, and that the dark clouds that hovered overhead were blocking out the light of the stars and moon, blanketing the world in darkness.

"This can't be good," Sora said, stopping suddenly as nearly a dozen Shadow Heartless rose out of the ground in front of him. "Kairi, can you go over by the DJ tent?"

"I think Axel's got that part covered," she told him, glancing back over her shoulder. The spiky red-head had killed the music and wrestled the microphone away from the DJ.

"Attention everyone," he said. "We are currently under attack by Heartless. All students and teachers who are not Combat Mastery students or instructors please move to the gymnasium in a calm and orderly fashion. Those who are CM students or instructors please report to the DJ tent and wait here. Guardians, if you are in the crowd, are welcome to join us up here. Don't stop moving or the darkness will overtake you, got it memorized?"

Sora had already dispatched four of the Shadows with quick slices from his Keyblade by the time Axel had finished his piece, and two of them suddenly streaked out towards the crowd of people with their hearts. Kairi raced after them, and delved her mind into her heart, feeling for the intense heat of an inferno. The Oathkeeper swirled with sudden raging fire and Kairi slashed her weapon towards the Heartless, yelling out the word: "Fire!"

A thin corkscrew of flame lashed off of her blade and struck the black skin of the two creatures of darkness, illuminating them in sudden, intense light that caught the attention of the crowd before the two creatures vanished in puffs of smoke.

Panic spread through the crowd as they all raced for the doors, the teachers trying to maintain a little order.

Seymour watched this happening as he stood with his wife and Anne. Naminé had vanished in a flash of golden light and was zipping back to rejoin with Kairi, while Roxas stood with them, holding onto copies of the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie were trying to navigate their way through the throng to the DJ tent as they were ordered, and Riku had disappeared to hunt down more Shadows.

Two men with bright swords in sheaths on their belts, but otherwise dressed in casual clothing, came up to the foursome. "Mr. Mayor," one of them spoke. "It has become dangerous here, we should leave."

"I'll see to my daughter before we go anywhere Acamas," Seymour said.

"Sir…" the Guardian replied tersely.

"Take my wife and Anne," Seymour told the other. "Wait for me here Acamas, I'm going to say goodbye to my daughter. And wish her luck. Roxas, would you like to escort me there?"

"About time," Roxas muttered under his breath. "Sure thing Seymour."

"Tell Sora I said good luck," Anne said quickly, rushing forward and giving Roxas a hug, "and that I wished that I had time to hug him goodbye too. Take care of yourself Roxas."

The blonde Nobody seemed a bit stunned at first before his arms went around the woman and hugged her back. "Thanks," he said, blushing. "Bye Mom." Trying to hide sniffles, the Nobody turned away.

Roxas quickly led the Mayor on a straight path across the pavement and under white lattices and lines of trees and flowers until they reached where Kairi and Sora were, only a close sixty metres away. Kairi's white Oathkeeper had just cut through the last Shadow in their area when they reached the duo.

"I think we're going to be leaving a lot sooner than what I had thought Dad," Kairi muttered quietly.

Seymour placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the girl to look up at her. "Take care of yourself and Naminé, Kairi," her father said tenderly, running his other hand through his blonde hair. "Just do us proud and stay safe." He looked at Sora and Roxas and nodded approvingly. "Do all of us proud," he added, his voice gaining strength.

"I hate to interrupt this undoubtedly touching moment," a female voice from above began, "but I'm afraid that I must."

Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Seymour all looked up for the source of the voice, and they saw a woman floating in the air above them. Long, shining blue hair draped down from her head, and her tawny eyes shone clearly from within her white skin. She was dressed in the garb of Organization XIII, throwing some unease into the hearts of Sora, Kairi, and Roxas.

"Hey!" yelled Sora. "I thought I got rid of all you guys!"

The woman laughed a little as she dropped lightly onto her feet. "That you did, Keyblade Master, but my master Maleficent found these spares lying about our base, and decided that they would be more _appropriate_ for us."

"What do you mean 'us'?" Roxas asked.

"Why Number XIII," the woman said, bowing, "it is an honour to meet The Key of Destiny."

"I'm not associated with the Organization anymore," Roxas spat. "Who are you?"

The woman placed a hand to her head. "My apologies. Where are my manners today? My name is Cossex, the Thought Crusher. Before you ask, I am a Nobody, and my mission is to take the Princess with me."

"Dad you'd better leave," Kairi murmured.

"Yes, I'd better have," Seymour said. "Goodbye Kairi."

"Bye Dad. I'm sorry Cossex," Kairi continued, "but if you're working with Maleficent then I can't just go with you. And what did you mean by 'us'?"

"You mean that there's more of you?" Sora asked.

"I have a sole Nobody companion," Cossex answered. "But you seem to be reasonable people. I'm sure we could come to some arrangement without undue pain."

She stopped and leapt backwards into the air as two fiery chakrams suddenly sliced at the air where she had just been standing. "Our answer is no, got it memorized?" Axel told her. "So you can just get lost!"

"I may not have a heart, but I'm not heartless," Cossex retorted angrily. "Just let her come with me freely, and I won't have to resort to force."

"Don't listen to her!" Axel yelled. "Sora, Kairi, run! Just run! If you haven't yet, seal the keyhole and get out of here! Make for the castle! There's a Gummi ship waiting for you on the peak of your play island."

"But why—?" Sora began.

Axel turned towards him with eyes that were nearly being consumed by the fiery personality of the former Nobody. "You're supposed to treat an order from me like an order from the King, just go!"

Sora was hesitant for a moment before nodding firmly. He grasped Kairi's hand and Roxas disappeared in a flash of blue to return into Sora. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Right."

"You aren't running away so easily," Cossex said, pointing both of her hands towards them. "Mind Crush!"

While Kairi continued on, unaffected, Sora dropped to the ground, grasping at his head and writhing in agony. He gave a roar of pain that alerted Kairi to his condition, and she turned back. Sora's brain was being ravaged by pain, as if it was being clamped into a vice that was being continually tightened, and his heart was in turmoil.

All Kairi could do at the time was hold him tightly in her arms in fright and panic, not noticing that light was streaming out of her fingertips and soaking into his body. Sora's pain diminished, and within thirty seconds of the light beginning to touch his body he was able to open his eyes.

"My head feels like it's been in a bass drum for an hour," Sora muttered in a groan, slowly rising to his feet.

"You're okay!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Thanks to you, I think," Sora told her, giving her a slight hug.

There was a sudden puff of black smoke next to them that startled both Sora and Kairi for a moment. "I'm back!" a voice that was revealed to be Yuffie's shouted out of it. She was carrying a large beige sack on her back. "Took me a bit longer than I expected, but—"

Yuffie looked up into the sky where Cossex was floating and she gulped. "Oh crap…" Looking around, she spotted Sora and Kairi. "Um, run! We'll handle her!"

"Okay, we're running!" Sora said, starting to sprint away with Kairi's hand in his.

"You aren't getting away like this," Cossex said angrily, preparing to dive down upon the two. She stopped as something whirred through the air in front of her. The object soared around and came towards Yuffie, who caught a massively oversized shuriken that had pink ribbons wrapped around two of the four spokes that she used to grip the weapon with, the ribbons on opposite sides of each other.

Riku landed next to her and flung the bag at the group of students and instructors who were still by the DJ tent. "You know what to do with those!" he barked, spotting Heartless beginning to appear again. He glanced at Yuffie, who was glaring determinedly at Cossex. "You ready for that dance Yuffie?"

"It's time to tango," the kunoichi answered, preparing to throw. "Hiya!"

-A-D-

Upon leaving the front of the school, Sora and Kairi took to the skies and raced through the tempest of wind that was now blowing to cross over the town and the water that separated them from the play island where they knew beyond a doubt that the Keyhole was. The seas frothed and raged in furious anger, spraying their salty contents high into the air to drench and soak into the two speedily flying Keyblade Wielders, each of them urging their bodies to go faster, faster!

Sora landed near the entrance to the Secret Place running, and he forced himself to duck down and crouch slightly in order to get himself through the tunnel, Kairi right behind him. He made it to the inner sanctum of the chamber and summoned the Oblivion. The large brown door with no handle was waiting for them, a shiny blue outline of a keyhole upon it. Sora raised his Keyblade and golden stars came out of nowhere and circled the tip, emitting a beam of white light that shot straight into the keyhole. They heard a metallic click as the keyhole to their world's heart sealed, and the keyhole along with the door faded away, leaving only the keyhole's imprint upon the grey stone. Sora turned to go; it was done. Never again would their world be destroyed. Outside, Sora looked up to see a red and yellow ship resting on their island's peak. He chuckled.

"I wonder why we didn't notice the _Highwind_ before?" he asked aloud.

"We'd better go," Kairi said. "Cossex might still be after us."

"Right," Sora agreed. They both rose into the sky once more and reached the summit of the small stone peak of the play island. It could hardly be called a mountain apart from that it was composed solely of rock, for it was smaller in size than the tri-hill only a few kilometres away.

He approached the underbelly of the ship and pressed a small red button. Hissing sounds came to their ears and a ramp lowered down to them. They both entered through the ramp quickly, and Sora closed it behind them as he quickly went to the bridge while Kairi stood in awe from where she was. The ship had appeared much smaller on the outside than it was on the inside.

Kairi ambled her way onto the bridge and sat down absently in one of the chairs flanking where Sora sat in the centre, captain's seat. There were a myriad of blinking and flashing lights around her, and she knew nothing about what any of them meant or did.

"Engines are powered up," Sora said to himself, "repulsorlift engaging. Retracting landing gear, landing gear retracted. Let's get out of here, engines at full throttle!" Sora threw his whole weight forward on the lever, and the craft accelerated forwards rapidly while he brought them up and through the gloomy black clouds and into the stars.

-A-D-

Cossex strode into the meeting hall in the Castle That Never Was. Maleficent, Pete, Pete's son PJ, and another cloaked figure were waiting for her. Maleficent was not happy when she entered, but concealed her anger.

"You have failed me Cossex," she stated. "I thought you told me that getting the princess I asked for would be simple?" Cossex looked at her with a measure of thought.

"I was mistaken," she said. "They apparently do not wish to listen to reason. And she is somehow unaffected by my powers over the mind, and was able to heal Sora of the suffering he was under." Maleficent nodded.

"I thought she might be immune," she postulated, "it is because of that light inside of her that she is unaffected. The light calms, soothes, and caresses her mind, leaving it shielded from external disturbances." Cossex wheeled to face Maleficent.

"It might have helped had I known that," she said, her tawny eyes narrowing marginally.

"I wasn't entirely sure myself, but the fact that she can heal and probably even prevent your powers from taking effect on Sora is a problem." Pete pounded his chest.

"If you had sent me Maleficent," he began, "that Sora would be a Heartless by now. Nobody messes with the mighty Pete!" Maleficent glared at him.

"You!" she spat. "You have failed in every task I have given you! You couldn't even turn Master Yen Sid into a Heartless! If I had sent you, Sora wouldn't have been writhing in pain, he would have been writhing in laughter, you useless imbecile!" PJ and the cloaked man sniggered.

"What are you laughing at boy?" Pete asked his son, affronted.

"Well Pop," PJ began, "after all I've heard, you kinda would have gotten whooped if you tried." Pete raised his fist, about to strike his own son, but suddenly slumped down in defeat, knowing that his son was right.

"If Kairi can keep Sora from being affected by your powers Cossex," Maleficent began, addressing everyone in the room, "then we must remove her from the picture long enough for you to grab Sora and bring him to me. I want to turn him into a Heartless personally. At least we know he is powerless to confront you." She dismissed the Nobodies with a wave of her hand. After making sure they were gone Maleficent gazed at Pete. "Go forth," she ordered, "go forth to each world. If you happen to meet Sora, do not engage him! Send a message here, then wait for our Nobody friends to arrive." Maleficent cackled. PJ excused himself from the room. It was not proper for one such as him to be around when Maleficent was cackling her evil cackle.

_I better tell Max and King Mickey about this_, he thought.

-A-D-

_There's the re-write of __**VIII: The Party**__. Tell me what you think of it!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	9. The Plan

_The revised ninth chapter is here for your reading pleasure. And on a special day too, because tonight, the 4th of March, 2010, is the 3-year anniversary of when I first started **The Annals of Darkness**! Back then it was still called **The Fire in His Heart**, but it is still a special day for me._

_Read and review!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Kingdom Hearts or Disney. _

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter IX: The Plan

Sora led a sleepy Kairi away from the bridge of the _Highwind_, down a wide staircase at the rear of the bridge, into the cabin where there were three doors that were arrayed in a semi-circular pattern against the wall several metres in front of them. Kairi dimly noticed that there was a large comfy couch in the centre behind a large flat-screen spherevision set just to her left with surround sound, a sphere player, and game consoles spread around it. Sora led her past the couch to the door on the right.

"This can be your room," he said softly, so as not to hurt her ears in her drowsy state. "There is a nice queen-sized bed inside, and an adjacent bathroom. There is also a door into the centre room, which is mine. If you need anything, I'll be right next door." Kairi nodded slowly in understanding.

"Thanks, Sora," she said before releasing a yawn that stretched from ear to ear. "Good night." He lightly pecked her cheek before she entered her room with a 'whoosh'.

"Good night Kairi," he whispered. She nodded her head before stumbling towards her bed, the door closing behind her. It was too dark to see much, but she snuggled under the blankets and quickly fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

-A-D-

Kairi awoke next morning when the lights automatically turned on. She winced and pulled the covers over her head, opting for a few more minutes of sleep.

_Ten more minutes Mom_, she thought lazily, eyes shut tight.

_Come on sleepyhead_, Naminé prodded. _It's eight fifteen. Sora's already been up for the last half hour making breakfast_. Kairi admitted defeat and yawned widely, pulling the blue covers off of her.

_That's sweet of him_, she thought before examining her room. In one glance she knew it had to have been Donald's. It was blue almost everywhere, with spare staffs and wizard hats lying around and a great big portrait of a female duck wearing a purple dress on the wall. Kairi walked up to the door. _All that blue will have to go_, she thought as the door opened for her with a whoosh.

_Yeah, yeah, yeah, no more blue. Now go and get a spot of breakfast_.

_Um one problem_, Kairi thought while looking around the cabin, puzzled. _Where's the kitchen?_ Before Naminé could answer, Kairi could smell eggs and bacon, the scent wafting from down the hallway to her left. A dreamy look came over her face as her nose led the way. The hallways had a plain, cold, steel floor that chilled her bare feet as she ran her fingers along the interior of the red hull. It seemed a little gloomy at first, but Kairi then noticed that there were many end tables bolted down to the floor with vases full of colourful flowers clamped onto them. She turned her nose away from the smell of breakfast for a moment and traipsed up to smell a particularly pretty group of flowers. Kairi inhaled deeply, the sweet perfume of the flowers invigorating her. She looked up to see a painting of a white castle with blue roofs on its many towers and bailey.

Kairi was still gazing at the painting when Sora came out of the nearest doorway with a white apron on. He spotted her and ambled in her direction. Kairi looked up and smiled when she heard his footsteps, toes ringing on the metal floor.

"Morning," he said lightly, scooping her up in his arms and kissing her. Or, he would have been able to kiss her, had Kairi not been giggling madly as he held her off the floor.

"Sora," she began sweetly, "are you always like this in the morning?" He grinned.

"Only when I'm with a pretty girl," he responded, finally achieving the kiss he desired as Kairi ceased her giggling.

"But I'm not ready yet," she pouted as they broke apart. Sora grinned as he set Kairi back on her feet.

"You're always beautiful," he whispered, pecking her cheek. Kairi turned back to the painting.

"Sora," she asked, "what is that place?" Sora stopped gazing at her face and turned to the painting.

"Oh, that's a painting of Disney Castle." He replied before raising his fingers to his chin. "Donald seemed to know a fair amount about it. I can't remember much of what he said though." Quite quickly a transparent Roxas ran out of the kitchen, making a beeline for Sora.

"Sorry to interrupt this art history lesson," he said quickly, "but Sora, the bacon is burning." Sora's eyes grew wide as he dashed off into the kitchen, cursing under his breath. Kairi giggled as she saw him race through the doorway. Roxas simply shook his head, a smile on his face.

"Roxas," Kairi inquired, slowly ambling towards the doorway with Roxas accompanying her, "why is Sora wearing an apron?" Roxas barked a laugh.

"Oh, Sora had to spend ten minutes explaining that," he said as they walked through the doorway. "Something about Goofy trying to cook once and somehow getting grease all over everyone's clothes. They became stained of course and Donald threw a fit, conjuring up aprons for all three of them to use when in the kitchen. I guess even without Donald, it has become ingrained in Sora to wear an apron when cooking on the _Highwind_, because I sure didn't see him wearing one at home." Kairi stifled a giggle as she observed Sora dashing about, saving his bacon and setting the table for two. The kitchen was really a combined kitchen/dining room. There was a pantry by the doorway, and a black fridge on the other side. The white stove currently had a cooling frying pan on one of its burners, and there were a few dishes in the sink. The wooden counter was surprisingly clean and devoid of foreign articles. A mahogany table rested on the other side of the counter, already laden with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. A few padded chairs surrounded the table.

Sora finished setting the table and untied his apron, tossing it expertly onto one of three hooks by the spice rack. He pulled out a chair and motioned for Kairi to sit down as Roxas zipped back into his mind as a blue light. She took the offered seat and Sora sat down next to her.

"How did you sleep Kairi?" he asked before tucking in to a piece of nice, crispy bacon. Kairi smiled as she swallowed her mouthful of toast.

"I had a surprisingly good sleep," she said before her shoulders drooped, "considering what happened last night." Sora noticed her shaky voice and looked at her in anxiety.

"Don't dwell on that Kairi," he said, trying to comfort her. "It isn't a good habit to get into. We sealed the keyhole, and Riku and Yuffie won't let us down. They probably took care of her." Kairi shook her head.

"But what happens if there are too many Heartless? And the islands are destroyed?" Sora shook his head, not catching her drift.

"But, the keyhole is sealed," he insisted. "The islands can't be destroyed again." Kairi pounded her fists on the table, clattering the plates.

"That isn't what I mean Sora," she growled, her voice slowly sinking from one of frustration to despair. "What happens if the islands become absolutely overrun with Heartless, and all of our friends and family are either killed or lose their hearts to them?" Tears were falling freely as she looked at Sora is desperation. "What happens if the town, the buildings, the trees, plants, and even paopu tree are destroyed?"

Sora's eyes grew widened as he contemplated the new meanings of the destruction of the islands. Images of his mother and friends lying dead floated through his eyes as Heartless wandered freely around a burning and destroyed town. He shoved them out of his mind and blinked away tears as he saw Kairi in front of him again, standing on her feet. Sora rose from his chair and embraced Kairi, her falling into his arms. "What happens if Cossex is too strong?" she whispered. Sora rubbed her back, trying to comfort her when his own masked fear matched hers.

"I don't know Kairi, but I'm scared," he admitted. They broke apart and she looked strangely at him. He knew that she had to be confused about him being scared. He sat down on his chair and placed his head in his hands. "I haven't been scared of many foes before," he explained weakly, "but she scares me. Nobody has had that effect on me before, not even Sephiroth did." He shuddered, remembering what she had done to him. Kairi stood behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her head next to his.

"What did she do?" she asked him quietly. Sora gasped and clasped her hands in one of his before turning his head slightly in her direction with tears welled up in his cerulean eyes.

"She," he stuttered, "she showed me images of you, Kairi. Images of you being tortured and dying, and while she was at it she hurt me. It was like she was hitting my head with a sledgehammer. It felt as if it would last forever before it subsided. I, I don't know what happened to stop it, or if I can take that pain again." Kairi silently wept and rubbed her cheek sympathetically against Sora's, doing all she could to comfort him when someone spoke.

"I do."

Kairi slowly spun her head and Sora looked weakly in the direction the voice came from. Naminé was standing at the head of the table. Her face was emanating concern, yet she was also smiling sympathetically.

"You may not have noticed Kairi," she began, "but while you were cradling Sora light came from your fingertips, healing and protecting him. You and Roxas don't have to bear the pain Sora, as long as you keep Kairi with you." Kairi sighed softly as she looked down at Sora.

"Don't worry Sora," she cooed, hugging him tightly, "I'm not leaving you." Sora lightly kissed the hands he was still clinging to.

"I love you."

"I know."

-A-D-

Sora landed the _Highwind_ in the Gummi hangar an hour later to meet an excited Chip and Dale, his chipmunk Gummi engineers.

"Howdy Sora!" called Dale as Sora and Kairi walked down the landing ramp. "Whatchya doing here? And who is that?" Sora smiled sadly at the two hyperactive rodents.

"Heartless attacked our home," Sora explained, "and Axel told us to come here. And this is my girlfriend Kairi."

"Sora is dating the princess?" Dale whispered to Chip, his paw trying to cover his mouth from their possible gaze.

"Looks that way," Chip muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Kairi walked up to the chipmunks and kneeled, offering her hand to them. Chip clambered onto it, pulling Dale up with him as Kairi laughed and twisted her palm so they could stand. She raised her hand so that they were level with her chin. Chip bowed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance Your Highness, my name is Chip."

"And I'm Dale," Dale piped up, also bowing. Kairi giggled nervously as she set them down.

"Please, just call me Kairi," she insisted. Chip and Dale saluted.

"Yes, Your Highness," Chip said before he caught himself, "I mean Princess Kairi." She wearily shook her head, standing up again. Sora walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're going to be saying that a lot Kairi," he told her. "Most people here are going to end up treating you like a princess instead of a regular kid." She sighed as they walked out into the garden, the chipmunks running off to work on their Gummi. Kairi gasped as they entered the courtyard. They had just come out of what was a hedge, but had been sculpted into the shape of a castle. All around the garden path were other hedge statues that looked like the castle's residents, while spaced between them were bountiful flower gardens, bristling with blooming bulbous beauties.

Kairi ambled towards the nearest one and knelt down, drinking in the scent of the flowers like a stimulant. She could sense the fragrance soothing her mind and removing all her worries from earlier that morning. _These flowers sure are wonderful_, she thought, standing back up.

_That they are_, Naminé said. Kairi looked over to Sora, who was lazing back on the lawn, ready to take a nap.

"Come on Sora," Kairi called, amused that he would want to take a nap now. Sora leapt onto his feet and walked to her side, before leading the way to the audience chamber.

"Sora, why were you trying to take a nap?" Kairi asked while they were walking. Sora yawned widely.

"I don't know," he said thickly. "It must be the courtyard. Those perfectly manicured lawns are just ripe for napping on in a nice sunny day, you know?" Kairi giggled a little as they approached the audience chamber. She looked at the doors, her smile slipping. _Those are huge_! she thought in awe. The white washed double doors were at least twenty feet high, with the doorknobs at least five feet above her head. Kairi rounded on Sora.

"How do we get in?" she asked. Sora chuckled to himself as he approached the left door. He knocked three times, and a regulation-sized door swung open. He motioned for a stunned Kairi to enter first. She smirked at him as she entered, annoyed that he couldn't warn her. Suddenly, she was struck down in awe again. The audience chamber was huge! It looked as if the red carpet she was standing on stretched for a mile before reaching the throne. Sora walked up behind her, quickly eying the distance they had to cover.

"Hang on," he advised as he quickly grabbed her around her waist.

"Wha-" Kairi started, confused, "Sora what are you doing?" Sora grinned as she threw an arm around his back, clutching his side. Sora began running before using Quick Run. Before Kairi knew what had happened, she was twelve feet further ahead than a moment ago. Before she could even recover Sora leapt into the air and began gliding above the floor, the wind whistling through their hair. Kairi laughed aloud as she came to realize that he was having fun in making the long walk become far shorter. She looked forward towards the golden throne and saw several figures standing around it. Sora landed and let go of Kairi a few feet away from the steps leading towards the throne. "That was fun," she whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth before they ascended.

"Glad you enjoyed it," he murmured. They approached the throne where King Mickey's face gravely awaited them. Coming to attention, they saluted him. "Your Majesty," Sora stated. "We are here because…" King Mickey silenced him with a wave.

"You're here because Heartless attacked the islands and Axel told you to leave right?" They slowly nodded, confused as to how he knew. Mickey sighed sadly as he got off of his throne, and walked towards them. Sora looked around to see who was standing around them. There was Donald and Goofy, a dog-person who looked like Goofy except was in his teens, Daisy in her purple dress, and Queen Minnie. Each of their shoulders had sagged and they looked sympathetically at the two teens. Sora looked back at the King, who sighed again. "I'm sorry," he said before looking around them. "Where's Riku?"

"He stayed behind with Axel and Yuffie," Kairi answered.

"Are they safe?" Goofy asked. Sora shook his head.

"We don't know," he answered nervously. "We don't know anything that happened after we fled from Cossex and locked the keyhole. But I'm pretty sure that they're alright." Mickey looked up in worry.

"Did you say Cossex?" he cried. "She's a powerful Nobody. I hope that they'll be okay." Sora nodded.

"I know," he said weakly, remembering again the scope of her powers. Donald and Goofy looked at each other in worry neither had seen Sora so shaken. Not even when he had lost Kairi again. Donald's face hardened.

"Don't worry," he quacked. "We'll handle her." Sora looked up at his duck friend in admiration.

"Thank you guys," he said warmly, nodding at them. Sora turned back to the King. "So what is Maleficent planning your Majesty? Why is she working with Nobodies? I thought that she despised them."

"Yeah," Kairi added. "She helped us defeat Organization XII right?" Mickey looked grimly at the two.

"Maleficent has apparently come to the conclusion that if she can get to the Nobodies before another stronger Nobody does, then she can turn them to her side and make them powerful allies of hers. Axel probably told you that she wanted Kingdom Hearts again, and she's planning to use her two Nobody servants along with Pete to gather the seven Princesses of Heart together and open a new Keyhole to Darkness inside of the Kingdom Hearts moon on the Organization's world. With that power, she would be able to conquer all the worlds and make an empire of darkness. Only this castle would be safe from her horde thanks to your previous effort to save the Cornerstone of Light." Sora scratched his head.

"Talk about a major problem. How's the spy that Axel mentioned?" Mickey turned his attention to the only other teenager in the room. Goofy gave an audible _ahyuk_.

"This is my son Max," he said, placing his hands on Max's shoulders. Sora and Kairi nodded, wondering why Goofy's son was here. Max shook his father's hands off of him.

"Yeah, I'm Max," he said nervously. "And PJ is actually my best friend."

"You mean your best friend works for Maleficent?" Sora asked before shaking his head.

"Talk about déjà vu," Kairi said quietly. Max laughed.

"Oh, don't worry," he said with a smile. "PJ was never involved in any of Pete's numerous attempts to cause havoc here, and he is very loyal to His Majesty. He's a double agent on our side; Pete only grabbed him and took him off to Maleficent's base when he was out on patrol. Somehow because PJ is his son, he seems to think that he can trust him completely." Sora folded his arms upon hearing this.

"Pete may be brainless," he began, "but Maleficent isn't. She'll find him out sooner or later." Max sighed sadly.

"I know," he said quietly, "and PJ knows too. He said in his last transmission that he would try and get us as much information as possible before he becomes paranoid that she or her Nobodies are onto him. Then, he'll get out as soon as he can and come here."

"He's a very brave young man," Queen Minnie said. "And we are all proud of him." Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Daisy nodded their heads. Donald looked at Sora and Kairi.

"Well, now you that know what is going on here," he said, "how was life on the islands during your break?" Sora and Kairi caught eyes and blushed looking away from each other. These were their close friends, but they knew that the news would leak out soon enough. King Mickey raised his eyebrows as everyone else leaned in.

"Well, uh," Sora started, his face a blaring beacon of red. Everyone leaned in further, Goofy even falling on Donald, neither noticing it. "Kairi and I are a couple now." If Donald and Goofy hadn't already fallen down, they would have. Kairi glanced at Sora and he gave a look that clearly said, 'I had to tell them.' Mickey, Donald, and Goofy started laughing whilst Daisy and Minnie sighed as dreamy looks came over them. Max just stood back, trying to keep is cool while he started thinking of a certain someone.

"You two are perfect for each other," Minnie sighed. "And after all you've been through it would be kind of hard for you two to not start dating right?" Donald broke from his laughing for a moment.

"Of course they would get together!" he quacked. "Sora used to pick moments on our journey where he would start thinking of her. And he used to spend hours gazing at her charm when he thought we weren't looking." Kairi looked at Sora, who had raised a fist towards the duck.

"You really did that?" she asked. Sora lowered his fist as he turned to her.

"Yeah," he said quietly, not remembering that they weren't alone. "When you weren't there, your charm was even more precious to me, reminding me of the promises I made. Especially the one when we parted to come back to you. That's why it's called it the Oathkeeper." Kairi slowly walked forward and embraced him, paralyzing him in a blissful kiss.

"That's so sweet of you," Kairi said softly when they broke the kiss. Sora smiled sweetly at his angelic princess.

"I know," he whispered, resting his forehead on hers. Donald sniggering at the two teens and Daisy glared at him.

"It isn't funny Donald!" she scolded. He immediately stopped laughing and gulped. Sora and Kairi looked, and blushed madly as they remembered where they were. Mickey smiled sadly.

"It is nice to know you two are together," he said slowly, "but I'm afraid Kairi is going to have to stay here." Everyone's eyes grew wide in shock.

_He can't do that!_ Roxas and Naminé fumed. Kairi flashed a look at Sora practically screaming 'remember Cossex!' Sora looked at King Mickey.

"Your Majesty," he began, "I understand that you would like to keep Kairi safe from Maleficent as she is one of the seven princesses, but I'm not leaving her. There is no way I'd be able to leave Kairi behind again, even here in Disney Castle. She just won't let me." Mickey sighed.

"I know how you feel Sora," he said. "It is the same feeling I get every time I leave the castle. But Kairi must stay here. Then we know Maleficent can't attain the power of Kingdom Hearts."

"But Your Majesty!" Kairi pleaded, desperation claiming her face, "You don't understand! Sora needs me! Roxas needs Naminé! They need both of us! Cossex's power is over the mind and heart. She can torture them with fake images of their loved ones dying; and only our light can protect them!" Kairi looked down, rubbing her arm. "I'm the only one who can heal Sora," she repeated quietly. "If I'm not there, he may die. Or become a Heartless again." Kairi sniffled sadly as Sora rubbed her back gently, trying to comfort her while tears shone in his own eyes.

King Mickey glanced around at those around him, each of them looking at him. He was silent for a moment before sighing in resignation.

"Fine," he said, "but be it on your own heads. Sora, if anything happens to her, I'll hold you directly responsible." Sora nodded, the beginnings of a smile taking hold.

_Kairi's coming with us_, he thought in jubilation. He looked at Kairi, who was beginning to smile too, and kissed her. Mickey looked at the two sternly before his face melted into a small smile.

_I wouldn't be able to keep those two apart even if I tried,_ he realized. "Welp," he began, addressing everyone. "I had hoped that Kairi would be staying here, so my original plan was for Sora, Donald, and Goofy to go out questing again. Some worlds still need their keyholes sealed, and there are more worlds out there to defend as well as the other princesses. I would have stayed here and coordinated it all, but since Kairi is going out to battle too plans need to change. We shall still have a team of three, but since we have enough people, we'll have two teams. I'll go with Donald and Goofy in our new Gummi ship the _Avenger_ and Sora, you and Kairi will go in the _Highwind_ with Max, if Goofy will allow it." Mickey looked expectantly at Goofy, awaiting an answer. Goofy began puzzling it over.

"I don't know," he said, looking his son over. "I don't think you're ready yet Maxie." Max got down on his knees.

"Please," he begged, "can I go? Sora is one of my three heroes. After all the stories you told me, you wouldn't let me go adventuring with him?" Goofy looked at Max's eyes. Being a dog-person, it was very easy for Max to utilize a puppy dog pout. However, that doesn't mean Goofy was any less susceptible to it as anyone else.

"Aw shucks," he said rubbing Max's head. "I can't resist you when you do that. Just don't kill yourself okay." Max gave a hurrah, and ran out of the audience chamber. Off to tell his friends and equip himself at the Royal Armoury. Queen Minnie looked at Kairi's outfit. She was still wearing the white halter-top and jean shorts. Kairi looked at the Queen before looking at herself.

_Not the best outfit to be fighting in_, she thought with a giggle. Queen Mickey took her hand and led her away, Sora following in their wake.

"Come on dear," she said. "Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are here, they'll fix you up." Minnie led them away towards a high tower overlooking the courtyard, where several figures were bustling in and out of the Gummi hangar. Queen Minnie opened the door to the tower and Kairi stepped in. Inside were the three good fairies. Flora in pink, Fauna in green, and Merryweather in blue, they each looked up at their entrance.

"Why look who it is dears," Flora said, "it's Queen Minnie, and Sora."

"And he brought a friend too," Merryweather said knowingly. "Oh, it's just like the Prince and our Aurora." Sora chuckled and Kairi shuffled her feet. Queen Minnie cleared her throat.

"We're here for clothes for Kairi ladies," she said. "Much like how Sora was a year ago." The three fairies suddenly became very excited and before Kairi knew it her arms were laden with several beautiful gowns and dresses of varying hues of pink, green, and blue. Kairi strained a little under the weight. She quickly dumped them on Sora before she could be overburdened.

"I thank you for the dresses," she said breathlessly, "and I'm sure they're very pretty, but we actually came here for an outfit I could wear to fight in." The fairies were taken aback.

"You're going to fight her too?" asked Fauna sadly. Kairi nodded.

"Yes," she stated.

"Well, I'm glad at least one girl has got the guts to go up against Maleficent!" Merryweather blurted out. "Too long has it only been men fighting. Nothing against you Sora or your husband Minnie, of course." Kairi and the Queen giggled. Merryweather motioned to her fellow fairies. "Come on girls." As one, they waved their wands and streams of red, green, and blue light shot towards Kairi. She closed her eyes as the warm magic washed over her.

"Oh my," Flora said, "she looks lovely." Kairi opened her eyes.

"I knew she would," Merryweather added smugly. Kairi looked herself over. Her halter-top had become a white, leather breastplate that ended just an inch or two above her bellybutton. There was a slit on the right side with three short leather straps and brass snaps for ease of removal and donning of the jerkin. Emblazoned on the front was the outline of a pink heart with a golden three-pointed crown in the center, the top point where the domes at the top met. Kairi looked down. Her jean shorts had changed into a very light rose skirt that ended just above her kneecap. She finished looking herself over before turning to Sora, apprehension claiming her. _Does he like it?_

Sora had just opened the door and shoved the gowns outside, so when he looked back and saw Kairi standing there as she was, his jaw went slack for a moment. Kairi giggled as he regained his cool and strode up to her.

"You look gorgeous," he said softly, before kissing her passionately. Merryweather placed her hands on her hips.

"I knew it," she said as they broke apart. Kairi turned to the fairies.

"I have another favour to ask," she said. "Since we're traveling on Sora's old Gummi ship, and I have Donald's old room, do you think you could help me…" Fauna gasped in excitement before Kairi could finish.

"You want us to help redecorate?" she asked. Kairi nodded.

"Say no more Kairi," Flora said. "We're on the way." Kairi led the way for the three fairies, making sure Sora grabbed the dresses, and began bouncing her ideas off them.

-A-D-

Sora staggered into Kairi's room in the _Highwind_, his arms laden with the many gowns the fairies had made for her. He peered his head around the mass of cloth in front of him, to see the walls changing from blue to a soft pink. The portrait of Daisy was gone, probably already taken to the _Avenger_, the sheets were also turning pink, and a large dresser, mirror, and chair popped out of nowhere. Sora rolled his eyes. _Girls_, he thought.

_Better get used to it_, Roxas said. _You're going to be with her for a while._

_What about you and Naminé?_ Sora asked. He could tell Roxas started laughing.

_She isn't coming in here; your mind is my own personal bachelor pad_. Sora rolled his eyes again.

_Glad you enjoy it._

_There's actually quite a lot of room in here._ Sora growled angrily.

_Now you're just being mean_, he thought savagely. Kairi stopped helping the fairies and looked over at Sora.

"Something wrong?" she asked seeing his face. He sighed sadly.

"Yeah Roxas," he said jerking his head upwards. Kairi giggled a little and nodded. Sora once again noticed that he was carrying somewhere around ten different dresses. "Do you know where I can put these?" he asked. Flora looked around.

"Oh yes Sora," she said flicking her wand. "You can place them in there." A walk-in closet appeared in what used to be a wall. Sora mumbled his thanks and entered. Dropping the dresses in a pile, he grabbed a hanger and began to hang each one up, never glancing for more than a moment or two, until he reached a particular fuchsia one. It was a long, slender gown that widened after the waist to give it body around the legs. Matching it were a pair of rose heeled shoes and a small silver circlet encrusted with tiny, glittering pink diamonds. Sora stared at the gown in wonder.

_Kairi would look beautiful in this_, he thought. As he gawked at the dress' beauty and daydreamed of Kairi dancing in it, she herself peeped her head in to see if Sora was done. She was about to say something when she saw him staring at the gown. Kairi smiled warmly.

_So,_ she thought, _he likes that one?_ She poked her head back out and returned to redecorating.

-A-D-

Mickey was in his Royal Chambers, preparing for the journey ahead. He sighed suddenly as he shut his suitcase.

_I hate leaving her here again_, he thought. He heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called, turning around. Minnie entered, positively radiant in her pink gown. Mickey smiled sadly at her, until he noticed a tight frown on her lips. Before he could even ask what was wrong, she spoke.

"Why didn't you tell them?" she asked, crossing her arms. Mickey sighed as he turned around, not wanting to face his wife.

"I didn't want to worry them," he said at last. "They finally got together and they seemed so happy together. I didn't want to ruin their happiness with the news." Minnie approached quickly.

"Even more reason to tell them," she said. "Kairi will do anything to protect Sora, and if you told them what Maleficent's really planning you'll put Sora on his guard." Mickey spun around.

"Yeah, and make them forget to be happy together," he said almost angrily. Minnie placed her hand on his shoulder.

"No," she said softly. "If you tell them, they'll enjoy the time they spend together even more. I know that every time you leave this castle your life is on the line. But because of that fact I love our alone time even more." She pecked him on the cheek. "Don't you?"

Mickey sighed and smiled at his Queen. "I do, but I still don't want to worry them." Minnie huffed a little.

"Although I don't agree with your decision," she said. "They will find out that Maleficent wants to turn Sora into a Heartless eventually. And they'll blame you for not telling them."

-A-D-

Sora, Kairi, and Max were standing next to King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in front of the Gummi ships that would take them around the worlds. In front of them were Queen Minnie, Daisy, and a pretty dog-girl in a turquoise shirt and navy shorts. King Mickey turned to those standing beside him.

"Now remember guys," he began, "we visit the worlds and seal their keyholes. We don't want another Heartless fiasco like a year ago." Each of them nodded their heads in determination, before turning back and waving.

"Good luck!" Queen Minnie called.

"Don't forget about our date Donald!" Daisy yelled. The other girl just smiled and waved. Sora, Kairi, and Max turned towards the _Highwind_ as they would be departing first.

"Wait a second Max," the King said. Sora looked at Max, who just shrugged his shoulders and sauntered back. The King whispered something to him, and Max grimly nodded his head before returning to Sora's side. He took one look at Sora's face and answered the unspoken question.

"He told me to be careful," he said. Sora nodded and looked up to the top of the ramp where Kairi was waiting.

"Come on you two," she called. Sora nodded and rushed to her side, Max on his heels. Reaching her, they all nodded and filed inside to the bridge. Sora sat in the captain's seat and began flipping switches and pressing buttons. The engines came online with a roar and Sora grabbed the wheel, ready to send them streaming out into space. Only, that isn't how it turned out.

Without warning, the repulsorlifts failed as the ground opened up under them, sending them tumbling straight down. Luckily, Sora and Kairi were wearing their seatbelts, so they were kept in their seats. Max, however, didn't buckle up and quickly face planted into the ceiling of the glass bubble that topped the bridge. Sora looked straight and saw that they were actually careening down a tunnel. Before he could take more in, they were suddenly in space. Sora grabbed the wheel again and accelerated them forward, in order for them to be out of the way for the _Avenger_. Due to the acceleration, when Max fell he missed his chair by a few feet. Cussing and feeling his jaw, Max stood and plopped himself back down, Sora and Kairi howling with laughter.

"Ha ha," Max said, "very funny guys." Sora slowly stopped laughing as Kairi continued to snigger at him. Minutes later, the _Avenger_ came plummeting down. Sora watched in surprise as the ship, which at first had been about the same size as the _Highwind_ suddenly started to expand and grow in size until it was over one and a half kilometres long and several hundred metres high.

A light on Kairi's terminal began to flash and a quiet siren began to blare. She looked hesitantly at her console.

"Sora," she asked, concerned, "what does this mean?"

"It means that we're receiving a transmission Kairi," Sora answered, a slight chuckle evident in his reply. "Press the small blue button under the light for audio, and the small green one for video." Kairi pressed the green button, and a screen slid out from each console. After a moment of grey screen, the screens flashed to life and an image of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy appeared.

"We're going to start exploring new worlds," King Mickey said. "Where are you guys planning on heading first?" Sora looked around at his companions.

"Actually," he began, "I was thinking of heading to the Radiant Garden and then Twilight Town first. Then I thought we could go around to the worlds I've already visited to make sure they're fine before exploring." Sora glanced around and saw Kairi and Max were both nodding in understanding. Sora would want to make sure his friends are okay first before making new friends. He glanced back at the screen. Goofy and the others were nodding too.

"Okay Sora," Goofy said. "You go make sure our friends are alright and put them on their guard. Tell them Donald and I said hi!"

"Good luck!" Donald called before the King cut the transmission. The screens slid back into the consoles and Sora looked out of the viewport. The _Avenger_, a massive white triangular vessel with a raised rectangular bridge that had two spherical shield generators placed upon either end on stilts, and four circling mini-ships, black ships with rectangular fins on each side of a sphere in the middle, pulled alongside them before streaking off, its three great engines glowing blue. Kairi looked up at Sora.

"So," she asked, "Radiant Garden?" Max punched the coordinates of the world in and looked up at his captain. Sora nodded before rising from his chair. Max and Kairi followed suit.

"It's going to take roughly six hours to get there," Max said with a yawn as they filed into the cabin. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Sora smiled.

"Talk, read books, watch movies, play video games, practice in the simulator, whatever we want really," he said plopping down on the couch. Max sat down next to him and eyed his gaming console. Sora raised his eyebrows at the teen next to him. "You want to go?" he asked, picking up a copy of Star Wars Battlefront II. Max grinned.

"I'm a veteran at that," he said pumping his chest. "There is no way you're going to win in a space battle." Sora took his challenge with gusto.

"You sure about that?" he challenged as the screen loaded. "I've flown this ship in combat against hundreds of Heartless ships and haven't received a scratch. You want to reconsider your fate?"

"Bring it on!" Max said. Kairi meanwhile was watching from a chair as she settled into a book. _Boys_, she thought as she watched Sora constantly destroy Max's Tie Interceptor from an Incom T-65 X-Wing Space Superiority Star Fighter.

_Sora's really good_, she thought a few minutes later, unable to concentrate on her reading due to the shouts, explosions, and taunts. _Although_, she continued, _he would have died a few times if Roxas weren't probably shouting out Max's position to him_. As Sora was about to win the game for the Rebel Alliance faction by reaching the score limit, he suddenly posed a question aloud.

"Did you guys notice that the King's ship and mini-ships looked a whole lot like an Imperial Star Destroyer and Tie Fighters?" Kairi looked up.

"Yeah, it did," she said before chuckling. "You don't think Chip and Dale have become Star Wars freaks, designing ships based on their favourite Star Wars ones?" Max laughed as Sora destroyed the Imperial Lander he was piloting, thereby winning the match.

"If they build a Type B Mon Calamari Cruiser and name it the _Liberty_, then we'll know for sure." He turned to Sora who had a smug look on his face. "You're really good Sora, normally X-Wings would be bantha fodder for a Tie Interceptor because of my increased manoeuvrability." Sora grinned and rubbed his nose.

"That's why I'm the best," he laughed before looking at Max. "So who was that cute girl that was watching us leaving Max?" Max blushed and turned away. Kairi marked her page, which wasn't that far and leaned in.

"Don't get any ideas Sora," she growled playfully. Sora waved his hands in front him in his defence. As he was about to protest his resentment at such a comment, Max spoke.

"That was my friend Roxanne," he said, not meeting their eyes. "I really like her, but I don't know if she likes me that way." He suddenly put his head in his hands. "What do I do guys? You should know." Sora and Kairi looked taken aback, and glanced at each other. Neither expected their new friend to come to them for dating advice. Sora sighed sympathetically.

"Well," he started, not knowing the best way to put it. "Did you ask her not to come?" Max nodded slowly. Kairi's eyebrows rose.

"Then she likes you," she explained. "If you told her not to come, and she came anyway, then she still wants to know you, and basically said that she would wait for you to come back. At which point she would make her feelings known for you." Kairi laughed a little. "Basically the same thing happened with us Sora." He laughed sadly as Max slowly raised his head.

"Yeah," Sora joked, "except that it was more of a promise to come back, and we found each other away from home, and it still took a while for everything to come out." Sora noticed that Max's head was raised, his face fixed in a look of disbelief. Sora placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It'll be fine as long as you get home," he said.

"Yeah," Max said slowly. "Thanks guys."

-A-D-

Tidus and Wakka were on patrol around the school's immediate area that evening. Tidus had a long, blue, crystal broadsword with a notch at the end, called the Brotherhood and Wakka was carrying a black, spiked Blitzball called the Catcher. Their nerves were on edge as they contemplated the events of the previous night and today.

"So," Wakka began to himself, "tell me again what in Yevon's name is going on?" Tidus sighed and shook his head.

"Even I can barely remember Wakka," he said. "Let's see. Last night at the party beings called Heartless attacked us. Then, some Nobody chick called Cossex showed up and began talking to Sora, Kairi, and Roxas. Axel then told Sora and Kairi to seal a keyhole and leave. Then Cossex did something to Sora, Kairi healed him with some kind of light, and then they started to fly into the sky. Mr. Axel and I were busy fighting the creatures in front of them and Riku and Miss Yuffie were holding back Cossex with a keyblade and an oversized shuiken. And Mr. Axel fired a column of flame to prevent her escaping." Tidus put his hand to his chin, trying to remember the rest of the events. "Then at some point Cossex vanished in a swirling black thing, and we fought the black devils until daybreak, and now we're on patrol to make sure that any that appear don't harm those who can't fight." Wakka nodded and looked at his watch.

"Our time's up," he said. "Let's go report at the Mayor's office." Tidus nodded and they began walking. He looked around sadly. A few buildings had been destroyed by the Heartless, including the Sweet Shack, and two people had gone missing, one of them Bob. _Not that anyone really gave a damn about Bob_, Tidus thought, _after what he tried to do to Kairi yesterday. But it's just sad that no one can find Mandy. She wasn't at school today, and her parents don't know where she is_. They continued walking, finally reaching City Hall, a grey multi-tiered building with flower gardens in front. Tidus opened the door and strode towards the Mayor's office, Wakka by his side.

Inside the office were Sora's mother Anne, Kairi's parents Seymour and Janet, Riku, Yuffie, Axel, the rest of Tidus' block four class, minus Sora and Kairi of course. Seymour had his head in his hands, but looked up at their entry.

"Status report," he ordered.

"Twelve Heartless appeared in our two hour shift," Tidus began wearily, "ten destroyed, two escaped."

"Those things give me the creeps yah?" Wakka said. "I mean, they're black all over, and those sphere heads that look like Blitzballs except for the antennae and beady yellow eyes. And those claws are sharp," he said, pointing to a cut he had received on his arm. Riku sighed and pulled out a potion, healing Tidus and Wakka of their wounds. Selphie looked concerned at her teachers.

"What are those things, really?" she asked aloud. Most others in the room nodded their heads. Axel, Riku, Yuffie, and the parents heaved a collective sigh.

"Denizens of darkness," Riku started, once again explaining everything about their adventures. "There is darkness in nearly every heart, except for the seven Princesses of Heart, we'll talk about those later. When a man named Xehanort opened a special door to darkness, he unwittingly allowed the darkness in people's hearts to take form. When the darkness overwhelmed the heart, a being called a Heartless was created. Xehanort first hypothesized that the creatures did not have hearts and after several tests he was able to conclude that Heartless are really hearts surrounded by darkness."

"You cannot truly slay them," Yuffie continued, "without a special weapon called a Keyblade. The Keyblade unlocks the captive heart and dispels the darkness surrounding it." John scratched his head.

"So, no matter what we do, we can't kill those things?" he asked glumly. Riku looked at him.

"Not entirely," he explained, "but you can scatter the darkness around the heart. It will then take a long time for the darkness to gather around it again and form a new Heartless. However it isn't all in vain for you see," Riku then summoned Way to the Dawn into his right hand, "I have a Keyblade, too." The whole class suddenly grew very excited.

"Great!" Val exclaimed. "So where are Sora and Kairi?"

"They're gone," Axel said.

"Gone!" Brittany cried, "Wha- what do you mean they're gone?" Axel smirked as Sora and Kairi's parents looked down sadly.

"I mean they aren't on the islands anymore," he stated.

"Well then where are they?" Michael growled. Axel laughed.

"They should be at Disney Castle right about now," he said. Yuffie and Riku breathed sighs of relief.

"That's good," she said. "They'll have met up with King Mickey and will probably start ridding the worlds of heartless while stopping Maleficent." Blank stares greeted Yuffie's words. Yuffie threw her arms in the air exasperatedly. "You seriously didn't think yours was the only world did you?" People began shaking their heads. Riku let out a chuckle.

"Guess they couldn't tell that you're from another world, eh Yuffie?" he said. Everyone excluding those who already knew looked in shock at Yuffie.

"You're from another world miss Yuffie?" Saji asked. "What's it like?" Yuffie smiled at them.

"My home world is called the Radiant Garden," she said before bouncing on her heels. "I wonder how Sora and Kairi are going to react when they arrive and find out I sent Leon, Aerith, Cid, and Merlin the picture of their first kiss?"

-A-D-

_Read and Review!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	10. The Garden

_Sora: "In honour of reaching over 100 reviews at this point in the original, __**Shire Folk**__ has drafted me to read the disclaimer exactly as printed before, he also said in his memo that he shall draft a member of the cast with every hundred reviews submitted. (Ahem) Shire Folk wishes to express that he owns nothing in his work of fanfiction apart from the plot and his own characters." (Sora turns his head to Kairi who is standing beside him.) "How did I do?"_

_Kairi: (Takes a small step towards him and kisses him on the lips for a few seconds before breaking it.) "Perfectly." _

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter X: The Garden

Sora, Kairi, and Max were upon the bridge in their seats as Sora piloted the _Highwind_ onto the Radiant Garden, landing it vertically in an alley just outside of the Marketplace. With a small _thud_ the landing gear made contact with the pavement. Sora unbuckled his seatbelt as he shut down the engines and brought the ship's flight systems offline. Rising from his seat he motioned for Max and Kairi to follow. _I wonder how much the Radiant Garden has changed since the last time I was here?_ he thought, descending the landing ramp. Sora looked around at the familiar stone buildings surrounding the ship as he breathed in the familiar scent of the Radiant Garden. He turned his head to the red-haired girl standing beside him.

"Welcome home," he said, slowly reaching for her hand. Kairi eyed his hand, her own slowly inching its way towards his.

"No," she replied slowly, their fingers touching. "I was only born here. Home is where my heart is," Kairi slid her outstretched hand into his as her eyes rose from their now entwined hands to Sora's blue eyes, "and that's with you Sora." Sora nodded and took a pace forward, leading her onward. They rounded the corner with Max in the rear, and were awed at the sight they saw before them.

The Marketplace had changed dramatically. Instead of just being a square with a few shops surrounding it there was a larger meeting square with alleys and branches stretching off in all directions, all of them bristling with shops, open market stalls, outdoor cafés, and even two vendors advertising Scrooge McDuck's Sea-Salt Ice Cream. Townspeople were bustling about everywhere. Men, women, children, and seniors were going around shopping, the children mostly hanging off their parents and clutching ice cream. But the thing that most astounded the trio was the number of teenagers there were in the crowd. Young adults were strolling about just about everywhere; they were chatting in the square, eating ice cream, snacking on fast foods, and shopping. Sora even noticed one gaggling group of girls that each held four to five shopping bags a piece.

"Wow," Max stuttered. "There sure are a lot of teens here." Sora gulped.

"I know," he said, awestruck. "I never knew that we were protecting this many kids our age from the Heartless." Sora turned his head to look at Kairi, who simply stood with a stunned look on her face. Sora shook her arm slightly. "Kairi," he asked, "you okay?"

"I'm their Princess," she said as she slowly brought her face towards Sora. "What if they want me to rule over them?" Max chuckled behind them. Kairi turned to look at him. "What is it?" she asked.

"Well," Max said, "last we heard from Leon, the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee set up a Parliamentary system of government, and the people elected Leon's party to govern and Leon, as leader, became Prime Minister." Max gave them a few seconds for it to sink in before continuing. "So, that means Leon's in charge, and you don't have to do anything Kairi." She smiled warmly at Max.

"Thanks for telling us Max," she said kindly. "Now we can just be normal teens fighting the forces of evil." Sora laughed heartily at Kairi's comment.

A passing teenage girl looked in their direction upon hearing Sora's laughter. A look of utter surprise claimed her visage as she screamed loudly. Instinctively, Sora and Kairi released each other's hands as they drew the Oblivion and the Oathkeeper out of thin air, suddenly alert and wary. Max simply raised his eyebrows as he slowly slinked away. He knew what was happening.

"SORA!" the girl screeched loud enough for the whole Marketplace to hear. "It's SORA!" A whole hundred heads turned in their direction as Max continued to retreat into the shadows.

"Did I forget to mention," he said slowly, "that you're famous Sora?" Sora and Kairi whipped their heads around and stared at Max, their Keyblades vanishing in the subconscious realization that there was no mortal danger. Suddenly a great roar erupted behind them as a horde of teenagers, mostly girls, began to dash towards them, screaming wildly.

"I can't believe that it's Sora!" one yelled.

"I know," another one shouted. "He's _soo_ hott!!" Sora and Kairi began quickly backing away in the wake of the crowd.

"Hey who is that girl he's with?" a random girl in the crowd asked rather loudly. Sora's eyes widened.

"Kairi," he began slowly. She turned to look at him while they continued backing away. Sora half turned his head in her direction. "We might want to start running now." In one fluid motion they both turned their backs on the crowd and bolted down an alley, grabbing hands as they fled.

_Why are you running Sora?_ Roxas asked with a chuckle. _They're just fan girls._ Sora huffed as he continued to flee.

_Would you like to be out here running?_ Sora yelled in his mind. That shut Roxas up.

"Hey!" a boy yelled. "I think that's that Kairi girl!"

"Isn't she a princess or something?" Another guy who was at the head of the pack asked. Kairi threw her head over her shoulder, but Sora tugged on her arm to keep her concentrated on running.

"Actually I think she's _our_ princess," another guy said in a slightly confused voice before picking up in excitement. "Hey did you see _her _Keyblade? How cool is that!? We have a princess who's also a Wielder of the Keyblade!"

"That's epic!" another said. "Not only is she a princess and she lookS gorgeous, but she can fight too! It's like we're in an anime or a manga or a video game or something."

"Princess and Wielder or not," a girl yelled savagely as she fought her way to the head, "no one is good enough for Sora except me!" Kairi's eyes steeled as a fire erupted in them, and she began resisting Sora's pull. Sora threw a glance back at Kairi and was not entirely shocked at what he saw in her eyes.

"Do you want to give her a piece of your mind?" he asked her. Kairi nodded.

"Yes," she said fiercely. Sora and Kairi quickly came to a halt and turned to face the mob of screaming fans. The horde surrounded them, leaving no avenue for escape. They all came to a complete stop in a ring around the two, just far enough away that if either Sora or Kairi had reached out they'd barely be able to brush fingers with an outstretched arm from one of the fangirls or fanboys.

The girls tried to inch a little closer to Sora, eyeing Kairi warily and some of them with looks of contempt. The boys, however, did nothing, and most of them were perfectly content to just gaze at her with slackened jaws. Sora glared at them for a moment and linked arms with Kairi, just as she stonily gazed at the girls. Then Kairi noticed the expressions of the male population and smiled.

She knew exactly what to do in this situation. Using her free hand, Kairi passed a hand through her hair to tuck some of it behind her ear and looked down slightly, blushing coyly. Still looking down, Kairi's eyes flickered upwards at them and slowly batted her eyelashes.

Sighs and moans of contentment and bliss escaped the lips of her target audience, and several of them dropped back into the arms of their love-struck friends, the emotional euphoria too much for their addled brains to handle. A sigh also came from much closer than Kairi anticipated and she looked up and to her left to see Sora blushing and smiling at her.

"You look so cute when you do that Kai," he told her, nuzzling his nose against hers slightly.

Kairi's fake blush turned real and she gave Sora a light kiss on the lips. "You are too sweet Sora."

At that moment one of the more courageous (or insane, it was difficult to tell) girls reached out and grasped Kairi roughly by the arm not linked to Sora. The couple was taken by surprise and Kairi was wrenched away from Sora and back into the mob of fangirls. Seeing the opportunity, they surged forward towards the Keyblade Master as a tidal wave.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled as he lost sight of her in the sea of girls.

"Sora!" Kairi's distressed and surprised shout carried out to his ears.

"You okay Kairi?" he called out loudly, struggling against the grasping hands of the mob of fangirls that were doing everything in their power to get a hand on him.

"I'm fine," came a muffled and annoyed reply from Kairi. "You okay?" Sora sighed gratefully but didn't immediately answer as he felt that he'd lost something, and became confused. Somehow his clothes were leaving his body, and he wasn't sure how it was happening. There were too many hands all over him, and it didn't feel at all like he'd thought it would have felt. Sora had once wondered and dreamed about being surrounded by a group of pretty girls, but now that it was happening he only wanted to think about one girl, and she was trapped somewhere in the mob and likely fighting her way back to him, or surrounded by the boys who were still conscious. Sora didn't worry too much about them; they didn't seem confident enough to do anything more than wolf-whistle or gawk. He was more worried about what these girls were going to do to him.

"I'VE GOT HIS JACKET!!" one girl shrieked.

"Kairi…" Sora began loudly and warily as he felt and noticed his t-shirt starting to rise up his chest, "you might want to get back here!"

"Forget her," a pretty girl with long blonde hair who had grabbed his right arm said seductively. "Forget her and kiss me." Sora turned to look at the speaker in revulsion.

"Is your heart really that black?" he asked her. She pretended as if she hadn't heard him and latched her arms around his neck and hands on his cheeks, her face swooping down to his lips as his shirt was getting close to being half-off.

Sora firmly closed his lips off after the most infinitesimal length of time it took for him to realize that this random fangirl was attempting to kiss him, but could do nothing else while his arms were restrained by the other dozen hands on them and his cheeks and head were forced forward by the girl's surprisingly strong grip. He struggled for a few moments, trying to break contact, and then an enraged and primitive scream tore through his whole being. The girl was thrown off of Sora and onto the ground by Kairi, who had just charged like an enraged, wounded predator.

Kairi planted her knees into the girl's back while she grabbed fistfuls of the girl's long blonde hair and yanked up hard. "You keep your lips and hands off of my man!" she bellowed, her blue eyes burning more intensely than the fiercest blaze, strong enough to melt glaciers of ice with a single look.

Everything around Sora seemed to stop as all attention turned towards Kairi and the blonde, whose brown eyes had just become visible to Sora's. They were matching Kairi's fearsome gaze with one filled equally with loathing.

"And who says that he's yours bitch!?" she asked, fiercely wrenching her body around with her arm snapping up to Kairi's face as the red-head became unstable. Nails scratched into Kairi's cheek and she dropped onto her side on the ground.

"Don't call her that!" Sora snarled, trying once more to get free. He looked anxiously towards Kairi. Her hand came up to her cheek in shock, taking a little bit of blood with it before returning in front of Kairi's indigo irises.

Kairi's anger doubly returned and she gave a scream of "You filthy whore!" before flinging herself upon the blonde. The golden-haired vixen was bigger than the auburn-haired tempest in every way, but Kairi didn't seem to care as both of them snarled, screamed, kicked, punched, pulled hair and raked nails across the other in the most un-ladylike of ways imaginable.

Sora had never seen a catfight before in his life, but he found his eyes unable to look away from just how ferociously Kairi was scrapping with the blonde. His view was obstructed because every single remaining girl had created a close ring around Kairi and the blonde, sealing them off. Every single fangirl watching was egging Kairi on, having quickly realized that that blonde girl had stepped over the line by kissing Sora right in front of his girlfriend, and had all sided with Kairi in defending her claim on Sora while Sora and the few males that there had been in the crowd (all of whom having regained consciousness) could only stare on through the bodies of the young women in stunned, and slightly fearful, awe.

"Sora dude," one of them muttered with his eyes fixed on the unsightly display of female fury, "your girl's one in a million."

Sora nodded without looking at him. "I know."

-A-D-

Kairi emerged the victor after four minutes of physically and mentally exhausting mortal combat (for more people than just the combatants). Several fistfuls of the blonde's hair were lying scattered on the ground. The bigger girl had retreated down the alleyway they were in, sobbing angry tears that mixed with the dirty blood that ran from several cuts to her face.

Even so, Kairi appeared to be the worse one off. There were marks on her face that would soon come to be tender bruises, a pretty bad cut above one eye that would force her to keep one hand pressed over it to try and forestall the bleeding so she wouldn't have to keep an eye closed, and cuts and scrapes all over her shoulders, legs, and lower abdomen. Kairi's nose was bleeding and there was also a cut to her lip. Her hair was dirty and dishevelled, and smears of dirt, mud, and blood covered her skin in makeshift camouflage makeup.

Many of the people in the crowd had left Sora and Kairi be after the fight, but there were still a few that had stayed to make sure that they were both okay, chiefly two young couples around their age who were completely sympathetic to them after that incident.

"Don't get us wrong," one of the girls (a blonde) said quickly after they were asked why they were still there, "we're still huge fans of you Sora. But I really kinda just wanted an autograph or something. I don't need it now, though, I can wait."

Sora had his right hand on Kairi's shoulder as they both sat on a crate. He had managed to get his jacket back and was currently wearing that zipped up while Kairi had his blue and orange t-shirt in her hands, scrunched into a ball and applied to her face around her mouth and nose to soak up the blood coming from her injuries. There had been a boy and girl, both single, who Sora had asked to go to Merlin the Wizard's house in the Borough and get Aerith. That had been ten minutes ago now.

Sora sighed slightly as he looked at Kairi. He was confident in his cure spells, but he knew that Aerith was much better than he was and he trusted her more than he trusted himself to make Kairi well again. "Why did you do that Kairi?" he asked quietly.

"Huh?" the auburn-haired girl replied, her voice muffled by the broken and bleeding tissues of her nose and the shirt covering her mouth.

"Why did you fight her Kairi?" he asked.

Kairi sighed quietly and mumbled something that Sora couldn't catch, but he did catch something like a sniffle and Kairi winced suddenly. "Kairi?"

"Because she kissed you," she said, loud enough and clearly enough for him to make it out this time. Sora could hear the frailty in her voice and brought his arm around to her other shoulder in a one-armed hug.

"Oh Kairi…" he whispered softly.

"We only just got together Sora," Kairi continued quietly. "And so soon after that, to see another girl kissing you… something in me just snapped and I lost it."

"How long _have_ you two been together?" a black-haired boy from one of the couples asked.

"Today makes day three," Sora answered him, managing a small smile. "You?"

"A month and a half," the boy's girlfriend, the blonde, said.

"Three months and four days," said the brunette male with sleek pulled back hair of the second pairing.

"Don't worry Your Highness," the other girl (who had short pitch-black hair) said, coming up and kneeling in front of Kairi. "It's only natural to want to pound girls you catch kissing your guy into the dust."

"And I wouldn't be sitting here if Kairi had had any suspicions of me kissing her back," Sora said laughing nervously.

Kairi had a small smirk on her face, revealed for a moment as she removed Sora's t-shirt to examine the bloody mess and feel if she was still bleeding. "You got that right," she told him. She giggled slightly afterwards but quickly brought his bloody shirt back to her face. "Ow!"

"So here's my patient?"

Sora looked up and saw the girl and boy who he'd sent to Merlin's house panting with their backs bent over and hands on their knees. Standing next to them with a small smile on her face was a young woman with long braided brown hair wearing a dress of salmon pink and white with emerald eyes.

"Aerith!" Sora exclaimed, waving at her. "How've you been?"

She giggled slightly and came forward. "I've been just fine Sora, and you?"

"I'm great, hey thanks guys," Sora added, nodding appreciatively towards the pair of singles who had gone to get her.

"Not a problem," the boy said, raising his hand and giving Sora a thumbs-up, "Anything to help out the Keyblade Master and our Princess when they're in need, right?"

"You said it," the girl who had gone with him agreed, smiling.

The teenage girl who had been on her knees in front of Kairi stood and moved out of the way as Aerith came to crouch before both Sora and Kairi. "Hello, Kairi," Aerith said pleasantly, cocking her head to the side. "Do you remember me?"

Kairi pulled back slightly on Sora's bloody t-shirt and examined Aerith's face. "I think so… Yes, in Traverse Town right? After Sora, Donald, and Goofy rescued me from Maleficent? You're Aerith Gainsborough."

Aerith smiled and leaned in a little closer. "That's me," she said, reaching out towards the t-shirt obscuring half of the girl's face. "Now let's take a look at you. Oh dear… Tch-tch-tch. Sora, what have you been letting this poor thing get herself into?"

"It's not my fault," Sora mumbled. "I can't help it if some rabid fangirl decides to kiss me and Kairi gets into a fight with her."

Aerith gave him a sympathetic look while sighing. "Oh you were kissed were you? I can see why that would start a fight, especially with Kairi being your girlfriend now too."

Sora nodded. "Yeah," he acknowledged. He paused and his head popped back up. "Wait! How did you—?"

Aerith giggled slightly and examined Kairi's face again. "You should really pay closer attention to where you're having first kisses Sora," she told him. "And to who's watching. Yuffie snapped a picture and sent it to us."

"Remind me to pay her back for that someday," Kairi muttered in a pout. "That was supposed to be private and special."

"You can worry about that later," Aerith said tenderly as her hands began to glow with green light. "Come on, let's get you fixed up, Curaga."

The green healing magic wrapped its soft, magical vines around Kairi, healing her cuts and scrapes. Her nose bent back into its proper place and the blood stopped leaking from the cuts to her lip and eyebrow. The bruises that were starting to form disappeared, but Kairi's hair was still dirty and messy.

Kairi turned awkwardly towards Sora, and he took his blood-stained shirt from her and found a clean spot. He patted it lightly on some blood that had not yet dried, taking it away from the girl's face, smiling while he did it.

"Apart from all of this crap on your face, you're looking good Kairi," he chuckled lightly, pulling the t-shirt back. "You might pass for a warrior-princess after all."

"Laugh all you want," Kairi retorted, "_you_ didn't just get into a fight." She smiled at him and playfully pushed Sora's shoulder.

"All better," Aerith said, standing up straight. "Would you like to go to Merlin's now?" she asked. "Everyone's waiting for you."

Sora nodded and took Kairi's hand in his free one (the other holding his blood-soaked t-shirt), and stood up. "Okay, let's go. Hey thanks for staying with us and everything guys."

"No problem," said the blonde girl. "It was nice meeting both of you. Come on Jared, I still want to get to that sale."

"Alright fine," the black-haired male said in resignation before giving Sora a subtle wink.

-A-D-

Aerith led Sora and Kairi out of the alley and through the streets of Radiant Garden. She led them down staircases and onto large and wide main streets until after a sudden left turn and run through an alley Sora found himself in familiar territory once again, near the outer wall and stairs leading into the Bailey. Another quick left turn and they were standing in a small plaza directly in front of the wooden door of Merlin the Wizard's house. There were a few children running through the plaza going in the opposite direction, playing tag. Sora sighed wistfully as his fingers stretched towards the doorknob. Kairi looked quizzically at him.

"What is it?" she asked. Her question startled Sora as he snapped his head towards her.

"What? Oh, nothing. Just thinking." Sora grasped the knob and opened the door. The inside looked almost exactly as he remembered. On the wall directly to his right several blueprints were tacked up. Directly opposite where he was standing was Cid's giant computer system, a portable blackboard on wheels to its left to segregate it from the remainder of the room. On the other side of the board were numerous stacks of books and scrolls belonging to Merlin, while in the center there was a circular brick platform that held a small round table with two chairs (including a large red armchair) surrounding it, and behind the dais there was a wooden door in the stone wall. On the table was a tea set, and on the far wall there was a bookcase, a stove, and a wardrobe. A bed and a pedestal with the Book of Pooh upon it were on the wall opposite the door on the other side of the blackboard. More books were scattered throughout.

Standing inside the room were four figures. Max was standing next to a man with spiked blond hair who had a toothpick in his teeth. The man wore a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Opposite him was a tall man with long brown hair. This man was marked with a scar across his face, and wore a black vest with white wool lining overtop a white shirt and matching black pants. The fourth standing figure was an old man wearing white and blue robes. He had a very long white beard and wore a pointed blue cap and round glasses. There were three others in the room however, they were all girls, they were only about six inches tall, and they were floating. One had short mocha hair and very strange eyes. One was green, and the other blue. She wore a white shirt on over a pair of incredibly short black jean shorts. Overtop of the jean shorts on one side was a feathered skirt alternating between blue and white. Her shirt was parted in the middle and a strange black symbol was on her chest. The second had long braided blonde hair all twisted around the back of her head and wore only a yellow bikini top and a tiny pair of green denim shorts. Her eyes were very strange, they were both green, but her pupils were spirals. The third had spiked silver hair, normal red eyes and wore a black shawl wrapped around her upper chest, and long black pants and boots. They were all congregated around the table and discussing current events, but they stopped and turned to greet the new arrivals.

"Well look who's walkin' back in here," the man chewing on the toothpick said affectionately. "Ship still flyin' then?"

"The _Highwind_'s still purring like a kitten Pops," Sora said, grinning at the blonde mechanic.

"What? Where'd that come from?" asked 'Pops'.

"Well you told me not to call you 'Gramps', so since you are a mechanic…"

"Yer not to call me by any moniker but my name kiddo," he retorted in a good-natured growl.

The scarred man chuckled. "It's good to see you again Sora," he said, leaving the table and striding towards Sora's party of three as Aerith closed the door behind them. Sora nodded to each of them and Kairi stepped forward to shake hands with them.

"Kairi," the scarred man continued, "Nice to see you again too." Kairi placed a finger to her chin.

"Um, Leon right?" she asked. He nodded his head and Kairi smiled. "Good, it's nice to know I haven't forgotten you all since Traverse Town." 'Pops' nudged her chin.

"Who am I then?" he asked. "And don't trust yer little boyfriend over there!" Kairi began to concentrate, but couldn't quite come up with the name. The man held up three fingers and said, "I'll give you a clue, three letters." Kairi's face lightened up as she remembered.

"Cid," she answered. Cid's face beamed and he gave her a noogie. Kairi fought him off and turned to the man wearing blue. "And you're Merlin," she said pointing. Merlin bowed and removed his cap.

"Correct, Princess Kairi," he said. Kairi simply sighed and shook her head before turning to the three floating girls.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "But I don't know you're names." The three girls didn't look disappointed at all, but took it all in stride.

"I'm Yuna," the one with mocha hair wearing white said, introducing herself and placing a hand over her heart.

"I'm Rikku!" energetically exclaimed the blonde one, pumping the air. The girl wearing black crossed her arms and looked Kairi over.

"Paine," she announced emotionlessly. Yuna took it up from there.

"Together we're the Gullwings!" she announced, the three of them striking a pose.

Paine was still looking Kairi over when a smile grew on her face and she looked at Sora. "She's a good match, Sora. I approve." Rikku looked at Yuna in surprise.

"Oh Yunie! _Tu drao ghuf ypuid dra beldina?_" Rikku asked. Yuna turned to her.

"_E tuh'd drehg cu_ Rikku." Sora and Kairi stared strangely at the two hovering girls.

"What did you just say?" Sora asked, half pointing at them. Yuna looked up at him.

"Oh, nothing!" she said coyly, her arms behind her back. Leon cleared his throat.

"So Sora," he said, folding his arms. "What happened to you two?"

"Got into a fight?" Cid asked, raising an eyebrow at the dried blood on Kairi's face. They both looked down ashamedly.

"Uh, yeah I kinda did get into a fight," Kairi said, scratching the side of her neck. "You see, there was this mob of fangirls and…"

"So that's what happened," Max said, nodding thoughtfully.

Sora looked down at his blood-soaked shirt in his left hand, rubbing the back of his head with his right. "Yeah, Kairi kinda got banged up a little. Is there a place where I can get my shirt cleaned, and, maybe for Kai to take a shower too?" He glanced at her, and Kairi smiled appreciatively at him.

Merlin chuckled slightly. "Here Sora," he said, motioning with a hand for them to follow him, "I have just the thing. Follow me please."

The wizard led them to the wall on the room's left side behind his table and opened the wooden door that was situated in the wall between a bookshelf and an iron wood-burning stove. Sora looked curiously at the door for a moment before Merlin opened it; it hadn't been there the last time he'd been in Radiant Garden. Behind the door was a landing and a stairwell that led up to their right, gently curving in that direction as well after climbing half of the height of the first floor.

Up the stairs they found themselves in a long yellow and blue hallway with multiple doors on either side. The hallway was lit from above, and there were paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls. "This way please," Merlin said politely, leading them down the hall and past several doors. He suddenly stopped beside on and turned around. "Through here Kairi," he said, smiling and holding his hand out towards the door as it opened by itself.

Kairi gave a slight shriek of surprise as towels, soap, and shampoo flew out of the room at a rapid pace, wrapping around her and both pushing and dragging her into the room almost too quickly for Sora to realize what it was that was happening.

"_Kai_—ri…?" he said, starting off with a yell of surprise, but finishing in a quiet, questioning voice as the door slammed shut in front of him. He'd never, ever, expected his girlfriend to get abducted right under his very nose by a bunch of towels.

Merlin chuckled. "Not to worry my dear boy," he said, smiling and nodded. "She's quite all right, though probably a little startled and already in a tub."

_I'm going to make a suggestion here Sora,_ Roxas said nervously. _The next door that opens without us actually seeing something opening it, be careful._

_I agree_, Sora thought, turning away from the closed door as Merlin continued with his now apparently deceptive smile. He led Sora to a spot a few doors down on the hall's right. The wizard opened the door and Sora cautiously peered inside. A light flickered on and the Keyblade Master found that the room looked almost like the circular training room that was somewhere within the house, except that it appeared a bit more like either a lounge or a library, with soft chesterfields and armchairs, lamps, bookshelves filled with books and board games, and small square tables.

"I was not expecting this," Sora said, entering the room and looking around at its wares.

Merlin laughed good-naturedly. "No, you probably weren't after witnessing Kairi being snatched away like that. We can return to this room later," he continued, a mysterious element entering his voice to draw Sora's curiosity towards him, "first, there are two more things I would like to show you."

Sora followed Merlin out of the lounge room and into another one that held a large circular wooden washbasin, filled with steaming water frothing with suds and soap bubbles. A washboard was floating in the air, half-dipped into the hot water, and several scrubbing brushes were balanced on the rim or lying on the floor. As soon as Sora entered they perked up and zipped through the air towards him. Sora lost his grip on his shirt soaked by Kairi's blood as one of them smacked his hand. It was caught by the washboard that had left the basin, and the cleaning implements soared through the air to return to the washbasin; the brushes were already scrubbing at his shirt.

"Uh…" Sora chuckled nervously. "That was a little…"

…_Unexpected?_ Roxas supplied.

Merlin chortled with laughter. "My, I haven't enjoyed magic this much since when I was instructing Arthur. And speaking of water…" he added cryptically (even though they weren't), motioning with a single finger for Sora to continue to follow him.

By this point, the fifteen-year-old boy from Destiny Islands was more than a little apprehensive about following the wizard. He respected and admired Merlin, but he was having more than enough surprises for one day, and wasn't sure if he wanted to know just what was behind door number four.

But he followed the wizard anyway, and found that beyond door number four was fire. They had entered the magic training room that Sora had used before on visits to the wizard's house, and every single object from the lamps to the wardrobes were wreathed in flame.

"Put them out," Merlin instructed simply, the door to the corridor of safety vanishing behind them.

Sora's shoulders sagged. "You've gotta be kidding me," he moaned, summoning the Oblivion to his hands.

-A-D-

Nearly a half-hour later Sora was back in the same lounge room that Merlin had led him into earlier, his skin sparkling with both water and sweat, a small white towel in his hands as he dabbed the moisture away. He'd never had a spell lesson so forcibly thrust on him before, and he was amazed that he'd done so well in learning and using the water element in such a small period of time.

The door was open, and Sora turned his tired head as Kairi came in, appearing both refreshed and exhausted. She was fully clothed in the white breastplate and skirt that had been made for her back in Disney Castle, but her hair and clean skin did both appear slightly damp still.

She gave a prolonged sigh as she collapsed onto a couch. "Rough time having a bath?" Sora asked.

"Never allow objects without sentient thought that have been enchanted to perform a single task strip you or bathe you," Kairi answered him. "They do not understand the meaning of the word 'gentle'."

The girl glowed with golden light for a moment before Naminé, dressed in her white sundress, came out in her orb of light. She was draping her arms out across the tall back of a sturdy armchair. "They were even rough on me," she pouted, her head hanging over the end, "and I'm pretty much like a _ghost_."

"But _you_ didn't have to learn how to put out an inferno in seven seconds flat," Sora argued in a groan just as Merlin walked through the door. "I don't know if I'd be able to teach you how to do that anytime soon."

"Teach Kairi?" Merlin asked. Sora turned his head towards the wizard. He hadn't realized that he'd come in.

"Yeah, Kairi's come with me to fight the Heartless, so I've been teaching her a bit in using magic," Sora explained, motioned his arm towards her. "She knows fire at least, and she's _really_ good at it." Despite her weariness, Kairi beamed and summoned the Oathkeeper. Merlin looked at it with surprise as he stepped towards Kairi and began examining her.

"Ah, so you have a Keyblade as well, Your Highness," he mused, stroking a finger through his beard. His eyes brightened suddenly. "It seems that your armour and skirt are akin to Sora's garments," he announced, pleased by the discovery. "They'll gather magical energy from the world around you. This means that it will take less energy to cast spells, and you will regain your energy faster. But that is not enough." Merlin shifted his attention towards Sora as Kairi dismissed the Oathkeeper. "Sora, I entrust you to further instruct young Kairi here in the use of magic."

"Sure thing," Sora said, smiling at Kairi. "Is my shirt ready yet?"

Merlin shook his head. "Not just yet. There were some, difficulties with the brushes. I shouldn't have left them unsupervised."

Sora groaned and placed his head in his hands. "Oh please no…"

"Why-why don't you play a game while you wait?" Merlin asked quickly, trying to conceal a nervous laugh. "Everything will be alright in a jiffy. Oh my, and who is this?" He asked, spotting Naminé for the first time.

"Merlin, meet my Nobody, Naminé," Kairi said, raising her hand towards the girl draped over the armchair.

"I'm so tired," Naminé mumbled. "The bath was exhausting. Your brushes don't know when to quit Merlin…"

The wizard stroked his long beard. "My apologies dear girl," he said sincerely. "It appeared that I'll have to take a look at the enchantments I placed on them all then. I'll be back in a short while, please make yourselves comfortable."

"Wait, where are the others?" Sora asked. But a puff of blue smoke had already consumed the wizard, and he was gone.

"Chess?" Kairi asked.

"You play chess?" Naminé asked, lifting her head up and looking at her Somebody.

"I'm too tired to play chess," Sora moaned. "Besides that, I suck at it. How about a card came?"

"You mean card 'game' Sora," Kairi said, managing a slight giggle.

"I'm tired. Give me a break Kai," Sora came back with.

"Like what?" his girlfriend asked. "Cheat?"

"I was thinking either 'Crazy 8s' or 'War', but Cheat works too," said Sora, pushing himself off of the chair he was in as Naminé went back into Kairi in a golden light, likely to sleep. "Wait, how can we play Cheat with only two people? It doesn't work!"

"Sorry, I'm not thinking straight," Kairi apologized, "the bath wore me out. Then how about War? We don't have to think if we're playing War." Sora agreed. Only a couple of minutes later the Gullwings flew in through the open door, followed by Aerith.

"Hey peoples!" Rikku said excitedly, "whatchya doing?"

"Playing War," Sora answered nonchalantly as he and Kairi flipped cards. He drew a five and Kairi an eight. "Damn."

"Sounds fun," Yuna said as she peered over Kairi's shoulder at her slightly smaller pile of won cards compared to Sora's.

"How's the shirt situation going?" Paine asked.

"Merlin messed up," Kairi answered, preparing to flip a card, "so now we're waiting for—whoa!" She had just played the Ace of Hearts, while Sora had drawn the Ace of Clubs.

"This is a nice war," Sora said, placing down three cards. "Alright go!"

Everyone's eyes bulged wider as Kairi pulled out the Ace of Spaces, and Sora the Ace of Diamonds.

"Holy Hera…!" he muttered.

"No way!" Kairi said. Three more cards went down, and Sora drew out the Queen of Hearts.

Kairi had the Jack of Diamonds.

Sora laughed and Kairi threw her cards at the table and folded her arms, pouting. "That's it. I lose. There's no way I can come back now. He's got all the aces and probably a load of high cards."

"Hey, I once saw a guy play for a half-hour relying on only a ten and a jack," Sora said, flipping up the cards he had won.

"Don't give up Kairi," Rikku said encouragingly. "Sora was cheating. He had to have been."

"Ooh, I got two of your kings and saved one of my own."

"I'm done!" Kairi said, tossing her cards across the table at Sora, who began to gather them up.

"Then maybe you'd like to see this," Aerith said sweetly, coming up behind her and placing a photo in front of Kairi's face. Sora peered over the cards as he was shuffling them and he blushed and smiled. In Aerith's hand was the picture of his and Kairi's true first kiss that she had mentioned Yuffie having taken.

"_Kiacc drao ghuf ypuid ed huf_," Rikku said to Yuna, smiling.

Kairi was holding it fondly and passed it over to Sora. He smiled and sighed as he felt warmth flood into his limbs. "Can I hold onto this?" he asked Aerith. She smiled in understanding and nodded. Sora pocketed the picture.

-A-D-

Max was still downstairs with Leon and Cid, the three of them having just watched Aerith and the Gullwings head upstairs. For the past half-hour they had spoken of nothing but those events that occurred in daily life: the small celebrations and hardships that happened to everyone.

"What's going on Max?" Leon asked the teenage son of Goofy from Disney Castle as the sound of footsteps on the stairs diminished. "I didn't want to say anything with Aerith around, but there has to be a reason for the King to have had Sora leave Destiny Islands."

"And it must be important if Kairi's hanging around with him," Cid speculated. "What's the big fuss about?"

Max sighed. "It's for their own protection," he said. "While Maleficent is still out there, and sending out Heartless, she has two objectives: to gather the seven Princesses of Heart and open a new Keyhole to Darkness, and to turn Sora himself into a Heartless."

"She wants what?" Leon asked, startled.

Cid nodded. "I see. So the King's got Sora and Kairi clumped together so's they can watch each other's backs."

"It wasn't supposed to be like that, but yes," Max said. "Kairi was supposed to stay in Disney Castle, where she'd be safe. But for one thing she wasn't going to let Sora walk into danger while leaving her behind to worry about him again, and one of the Nobodies working for Maleficent, Cossex, threw us a giant curveball. She has control over a person's mind, and appears able to look into the heart of anyone who has darkness in them and force their imaginations to create illusions of their darkest fears. Only the Princesses of Heart seem immune, so Kairi's also with Sora to keep him protected from Cossex so that she can't just paralyze him and bring him back to Maleficent to be turned into a Heartless."

"This sounds bad," Leon said, looking up towards the second floor of Merlin's house. "I don't think the kid's ever had to deal with something like that before."

"And Kairi's probably not been in a _real_ fight before either," Cid murmured. "Sure she was in a scrap with a fangirl earlier, but that's not the same as fightin' off Heartless."

"And I'm new too," Max muttered meekly, fingering with the hilt of a sword sheathed across his back. "I can't help but think that I won't be as good as my dad."

"You'll be fine," Leon said. "You'll be with Sora."

"Did someone say my name?"

The three looked around as Sora came into the room again, followed by Kairi, Aerith, Merlin, and the Gullwings. His blue and orange shirt was back on and his short-sleeved jacket unzipped once more.

"Yer all cleaned up then?" Cid asked.

"Merlin's little helpers had a couple of kinks to work out," Sora told the blonde mechanic, "but yeah, we're good. How've things been going in the Garden since the last time I was here, any Heartless?"

Leon shook his head. "No Heartless inside of the city anymore at least," he said. "Ever since Cid and Tron were able to enhance the claymores to such an extent that the Heartless couldn't stand more than three seconds inside, people have been coming out of hiding and contributing their skills, resources, and labour into making Radiant Garden just like it was before Maleficent came. Few people came out of their houses before, and now many people are out in the open, including our young." Kairi raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, we noticed," she said before running a hand across her forehead. "But I think we set them straight," Kairi added, glancing at Sora.

"I suppose that fangirls can be a major pain," said Paine. Leon sighed.

"Anyway," he started again, "because a lot of people recognized all the work I had been doing for Radiant Garden leading the Restoration Committee, I was asked to lead the Liberal Party of Radiant Garden, and we just won the first election our world has ever had."

"The voter turn-out wasn't that great though," Aerith sighed. "Only about thirty-seven percent—"

Before she could continue, a loud explosion shook the house. In haste the whole party ran from the house towards the outer wall of the Bailey that protected the city. People in the streets were looking towards the wall with anxious and fearful looks on their faces, looks that were tempered with a measure of hope at seeing the Keyblade Master and the members of what had been the Restoration Committee. Sora gave them confident smiles before looking over the ramparts to see a swarm of Heartless below them in the Great Maw.

_Oh no_, he thought, _not again!_ He looked left to see Kairi and Max gulping in a cold sweat. _They've probably never seen so many Heartless. Well, Kairi has, but she's never had to fight this many._ Sora turned his head to his right to see each member of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee staring resolutely at the Heartless. Leon caught his eye and nodded.

"I'm not going to let them destroy everything we've built again," Squall Leonhart growled before drawing his gunblade, a long sword where a section near the hilt was a revolver. "Sora, let's go!" Sora nodded curtly and motioned for Kairi and Max. Kairi turned to him quickly, and nodded anxiously.

"Sora…" she said apprehensively, "are you sure? Am I ready for this?" He turned and went to her side, his hands going to rest on her shoulders.

"Don't worry Kairi," he said in a comforting tone. "You'll be okay. Against these guys, you're more than qualified." Sora then turned to Max, whose expression was rippled in terror. "Well Max," he added, "now's your chance." Max gulped and nodded slowly. Sora turned back to Kairi, who was shaking her head to rid herself of her doubts.

"You're right," she said slowly, before a look of determination claimed her face. "Let's go!" she let out courageously. Kairi bolted forward, leaving Sora and Max to start a half a second after her.

"All right!" Rikku exclaimed excitedly before flying off to join the others. "Don't worry Radiant Garden, your friendly neighbourhood Gullwings are on the job!" Sora smirked at her remark as he ran into the Bailey. Upon entrance, Sora stopped suddenly as dozens of circular beams of light shot down to the ground from about a meter above it. Little silver-blue spherical balls appeared from them and began rapidly moving on the ground towards their targets. Sora noticed Max and Kairi watching them with apprehension.

"Don't worry," Sora said with a laugh, "those are just claymores, the town's defence mechanism." Kairi looked at him.

"So they're on our side?" she asked quickly. Sora nodded and chased after the claymores, summoning the Oblivion as he prepared to charge into the unseen Heartless horde. He vaulted the brick railing on the side of the stairs and saw the fiends. There was a great army of Heartless behind the warped remains of what appeared to be an iron gate. In front of the gate, claymores were constantly sliding under the bodies of the Heartless and exploding, dissipating them. Sora could barely see which kind of Heartless they were due to Leon, the others, and the explosions the claymores created, yet the sound of them was enough to convince Sora that he knew what they were. It was a clicking clacking sound, and an image of an Armoured Knight appeared in his mind. A body surrounded by grey armour, with a pointed helm on its head and a sword serving as one arm, and pointed sticks the remainder of its limbs.

Sora opened his eyes to see red hair dashing past him; Kairi was on the move. Sora grinned as he prepared himself for the fight ahead of him when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Max was standing behind him, holding a long silver sword with a golden hilt in his right hand, a red bandana in his left.

"Sora," he said quickly, holding out his sword. "Could you hold this for me for a second?" Sora grabbed the sword's hilt with his free hand and stared at Max, perplexed as Max tied the bandana on his head. Max looked at Sora. "Roxanne gave me this," he explained, "and I'm going to wear it from now on as a reminder to come back to her, so I can tell her how I feel about her." Sora nodded in understanding as he handed back Max's sword.

"Would you like me to watch your back?" he asked. Max shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer Sora," he said, "but I want to prove to myself first that I can fight and won't have to rely on others." Sora chuckled to himself at Max's comment. He raised his eyebrows, "what?" Sora grinned slightly and closed his eyes.

"Two things," Sora began humorously. "One, you're starting to sound like my friend Riku. And two," Sora opened his eyes and looked at Max, "you always need someone watching your back. You won't believe just how many times your father and Donald saved my hide." Max chuckled.

"Fair point," he replied, grinning. "But I still want to go this one alone." Sora nodded slowly. Even though Max idolized him, if Sora couldn't talk him out of it, there was no point trying further.

"Just be careful Max," Sora sighed. "You want to make it back to Roxanne in one piece." Max nodded before rushing past Sora towards the remains of the gate. Sora turned to address the current situation. Kairi, Leon, and the Gullwings had already beaten the Heartless back out past the gate, and could no longer receive help from the town's claymores. Aerith, Merlin, and Cid were standing behind the remains of the gate. Sora walked up to them as Max rushed out past them. "What are you three going to do?" he asked. Merlin raised a hand.

"I am going to go up onto the outer wall and cast powerful magic spells at these infernal Heartless." Cid then jabbed his thumb at himself.

"I'm gonna stay here with my spear and beat back any Heartless that make it through you guys in the front lines," he explained. "And if the claymores go on the fritz, I'll hold the Heartless until Tron can figure out what's wrong and fix 'em." Sora turned his attention to Aerith. She put a hand over her heart upon seeing his gaze.

"I'm going out with you guys," she said. "I know I can't fight as well as the others, but I can heal you all if you get hurt. And if anything attacks me, I'll strike back with my quarterstaff." Sora nodded and walked out past the gate.

"Stay close to Leon," he muttered as he past Aerith. Aerith blushed but before she could even scold him Sora was dashing off into the fray, the Oblivion poised in front of him. He arrived next to Kairi and his first slash went straight through an Armoured Knight's armour, dispelling the darkness and releasing its heart.

"Perfect timing," Kairi said as she repeatedly slashed at several Heartless, creating cracks in their armour. Sora saw one that was spinning on the ground about to scythe its way through Kairi's legs.

"Watch out," Sora yelled as he rose into the air, forcefully lunging down at it, Keyblade in front of him. Kairi looked just in time to see Sora dive straight through it. He proceeded to use the manoeuvre four more times around them, ripping through several Heartless at once. When he dropped to the ground, he looked at Kairi. "Don't worry Kai," he said. "I've got your back." Kairi smiled, but quickly pointed the Oathkeeper slightly to Sora's side. A large fireball formed on its tip.

"Fire," Kairi said. The fireball shot out from her Keyblade's tip and hurtled past Sora. He turned in time to see it vaporize an Armoured Knight that was about to slice open his back. Sora turned back to Kairi in wonder to see her smirking and resting the Oathkeeper on her shoulder. "Or do I have your back?" she asked smugly. Sora grinned and swiftly turned around and stabbed a Heartless in the head.

And so, the battle began.

-A-D-

The army of Heartless was truly massive. After the defenders of the Radiant Garden were able to drive them back past the cliffs and crystal fissure to the Great Maw the Heartless were able to drive a wedge between each defender in only a few short minutes, isolating them in a ring of foes. Each person was an island, constantly assailed by the dark waves. Leon was defending Aerith with his gunblade. Kairi was valiantly fighting on her own. Max was proving himself, or so he thought. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had each pulled out a miniature pistol, set of long knives with round hilts, and sword, respectively, and were viciously defending themselves. Sora blocked an attack one Armoured Knight threw at him at viciously attacked it, hacking it and those around it to pieces. Unbeknownst to him, an Armoured Knight was creeping up behind him. Sora dodged a laser blast a Surveillance Robot had fired at him, and continued pressing forward, not knowing about the foe to his rear.

_Sora, behind you!_ Roxas shouted. Sora turned to see it attacking him with a downward slash. He raised the Oblivion to block it, but before the blow could connect the Heartless disappeared in a blinding flash that Sora was forced to shield his eyes from. When he opened them, he saw the tips of an Oblivion and an Oathkeeper directly where the Heartless had stood. Sora followed the blades down to their hilts, smiling. Holding the two weapons was a blue-eyed boy with spiked blonde hair wearing a black shirt, white vest, gray pants and black shoes. On his chest was a four-pointed pendant. It was Roxas.

And he was smiling at Sora with the cheekiest grin the Keyblade Master had ever seen!

"What's up with you?" he asked. "Just Armoured Knights and Surveillance Robots? This should be a cakewalk and you're letting your guard down."

Sora snorted, smiling as he quickly brought the Oblivion up to turn aside a falling sword from an Armoured Knight. The Oblivion flickered upwards, severing the Heartless' sword-arm before Sora brought it round and cut diagonally through the neck. "Heh, thanks for the reminder. Say, how many do you think you can take out?"

Roxas had just plunged his two Keyblades through the chest of one Armoured Knight before slicing them out to the sides, cracking the armour of the two that were standing next to it. "More than you," he replied, arching both blades to sever each Heartless from shoulder to hip.

_Naminé,_ Roxas thought while eviscerating a large green ball of a Heartless known as a Morning Star. _Can you hear me?_ He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

_Of course Roxas,_ She answered. _Why do you ask?_

_Because I'm out here, fighting Heartless,_ Roxas said. There was a long pause from Naminé as the battle raged around everyone.

_What!?_ Naminé screamed. _Why?_

_Because I can and I don't want these guys to have all of the fun,_ Roxas answered as he jumped to avoid the laser Sora, through use of a Surveillance Robot, was using to destroy a large swath of Heartless.

_Well…_ Naminé started. Roxas raised his eyebrows.

_Well what Nam?_

_Well, since Kairi can wield a Keyblade, then maybe I can too._ Roxas slowly shook his head.

_Naminé, be careful. I don't want you to get hurt._

-A-D-

Several meters away, nearly out of sight due to the hordes of Heartless, Kairi was holding her own against the Heartless. She had sustained a few scratches and cuts to her arms, but every slash that had connected against her leather breastplate did not harm her, nor did it cut through the leather. The same was mostly true of her skirt; it would not tear or rip no matter how many swords were brought against it. Although, being a skirt, it offered nowhere near the amount of protection her breastplate offered, so Kairi was sure that she would have several purple bruises on her thighs when the battle was over.

Kairi parried a spinning attack an Armoured Knight was about to use and leapt up high, ferociously attacking anything below her with a single powerful blow. Landing crouched on her feet, Kairi deftly rose and twirled around, Keyblade extended, to hack through the Heartless in her immediate area. She briefly smirked as she saw their pink hearts rise into the sky. She turned around to see the spectral figure of Naminé standing behind her. Naminé was concentrating, but on what Kairi couldn't tell.

_Naminé_, she asked, _what are you doing?_

_Trying to see if I have a Keyblade I can summon,_ Naminé irritably responded. Kairi giggled, she couldn't picture Naminé fighting with a Keyblade. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and Naminé had become solid, in her hands she was holding Island's Fire; Kairi's eyes widened in amazement as she gazed at the golden blade. Naminé opened her eyes upon feeling the Keyblade's weight in her hands. She smiled and jumped up and down, thoroughly excited.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, "I have my own Keyblade." She looked herself over and began feeling her abdomen. "It worked! It really worked!!" Kairi sighed, before leaping behind Naminé and destroying a Heartless that was about to make mince pies out of her Nobody.

"That's great Naminé," she said breathlessly. "But can you fight?" Naminé became quite taken aback at Kairi's comment, before smiling and slightly shrugging. "Then why are out here?" Kairi gasped.

"Hey Roxas is out too!" Naminé pouted, placing her hand on her hips. "He's fighting with Sora, and I thought that now would be the perfect time to practice the stuff I learned in class, right?" Kairi gasped exasperatedly, before her eyes became wide in fear.

"Watch out!" she yelled. Naminé started and twisted around to see what was behind her, her hair swinging with her. An Armoured Knight had just slashed at her, but it missed with Naminé's sudden movement and only cut a few strands of hair. Naminé quickly placed her hand to her blonde locks to examine the damage.

"My hair," she said slowly. "That Heartless cut my hair." Naminé's eyes hardened as a fire grew in them. "I just find out that I can summon a Keyblade of my own so that I don't have to borrow someone else's in order interact physically with the world, and the first thing that happens is for a stupid Heartless to cut my hair!? You're going down, bitch!" Kairi was struck dumb at the foul language her Nobody was using.

_I would never say something like that!_ She thought. Whether Naminé heard her or not, Naminé raised her Keyblade above her head and prepared to strike at the Heartless, emotional rage filling her whole being. The Armoured Knight instinctively raised both of its arms together to block the attack. With a mighty cry Naminé threw the Island's Fire down in a brutal slash. Her anger strengthened the blow and made it so powerful that it cut straight through, and cleaved through the Heartless' armour like a hot knife through warm butter. Kairi simply stood shocked as Naminé turned towards her.

"I think I'll be alright," she said.

And on the battle raged.

-A-D-

Pete was standing on one of the cliffs on each side of the Great Maw, and he did not like what he saw.

"Huh," he said to himself, rubbing his chin. "Even though Maleficent left this massive army of Heartless here, and it grew because of that stupid town's defences, and they've managed to separate the nitwits, those twerps are still besting the Heartless." Pete placed his head in his hands and began rubbing the backs of his pointy ears. "Oh if they can do this, how are Cossex and what's his name, Nixion, going to handle them?" As Pete mulled over the current situation, he heard a voice carried by the wind cry 'holy'. Pete looked up in surprise at what was taking place on the battlefield. Several large white spheres were appearing around the majority of the Heartless, and they began circling the encircled horde before disappearing into the sky. Pete looked in awe as hundreds of tiny rays of light descended upon the Heartless, wiping each out in an instant. After what had only taken a few moments, nearly the entire Heartless army had been wiped out. Stupefied, Pete gaped open-mouthed at the Great Maw for a second before jumping down the cliffs. Unfortunately for him he couldn't jump the entire distance, and tumbled down the last twenty-five feet or so, landing with a crash in a heap of dirt.

-A-D-

Sora and Roxas, still holding their Keyblades, looked up at the big red and black mound that had just come down from the cliffs, wondering what it was when Max came up behind them. Sora turned his head to look at the boy. He was a quite worse for wear, there was a long gash across his left arm, his bloodstained red shirt was ripped and there were cuts on his chest and back, and there were also a few cuts on his legs around the bloodstains on his jeans. Despite all of his injuries, Max was smiling.

"Okay Sora," he began with a pained chuckle. "You were right, you always need someone to watch your back." Max then turned quizzically to the person standing next to Sora. "Who's that?" Sora laughed aloud.

"Max," he said, "allow me to introduce my Nobody, Roxas." Roxas inclined his head at Max.

"Max," Roxas began, "I'm sorry you couldn't kill Sora once when you two were playing Star Wars Battlefront II." Max scratched his head.

"How did you know about that?" he asked. Roxas grinned and chuckled somewhat.

"Because I was telling him where you were hiding." Max's expression hardened as he curtly turned his head to Sora.

"When we get back to the ship," he ordered, almost incoherently, "rematch, no Nobodies, no mercy." Sora chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.

"I'll still beat you," he said. Max shrugged.

"I might have a chance to kill you though," he replied, smiling. "And that's all that matters." Kairi, Naminé, Leon, Aerith, and the Gullwings came up behind them with their weapons, unnoticed. Max continued. "So, how many Heartless did you two nail anyway?" Sora and Roxas smirked.

"Around six hundred or so," Sora said proudly.

"Ah man!" Roxas whined, "I didn't get nearly that many, only got one hundred eighty-seven, although I did start only ten minutes ago." Each of them looked at Max.

"About, a hundred or so," he announced apprehensively. Sora and Roxas each nodded admirably.

"Awesome job for a newbie," Roxas commented.

"Is that all you guys talk about?" Naminé asked, crossing her arms. "Beating each other?" Kairi placed her head in her hand.

"They're boys Nam," she said. "Everything's a contest between them." Max looked inquiringly at Kairi while pointing at Naminé.

"Who-?" he half asked. Kairi looked up.

"Naminé," she answered. Max's expression was still puzzled yet his gaze followed Naminé as she ran into Roxas' arms and kissed him. Max turned back to Kairi as Aerith healed the party's wounds with a curaga spell. "My Nobody," she finished with a smile.

"Everyone here have a Nobody?" Max asked aloud.

"Well Maleficent has two," a voice said from behind them. "But you'll all be dead before you see 'em." They turned around to see Pete standing behind them. Suddenly five Keyblades, two swords (one miniature), a gunblade, a miniscule pistol, and two tiny daggers used by thieves were pointed at him. "I can see where this is going," Pete said fearfully, as he ran back to where the remainder of the Heartless were congregating. "I'm going to show you what happens when people mess with the mighty Pete!" he roared.

"This is going to be a cakewalk," Sora muttered to his friends before charging at Pete. The Gullwings quickly flew ahead of Sora and over the Heartless to take the first offensive against Pete. Yuna fired a few quick rounds at Pete's gut and Paine threw a slash against the back of his right knee. Pete howled in pain as he knelt to the ground. Rikku used the opportunity to manoeuvre around him until a certain pocket caught her eye.

"_Drana yeh'd hudrehk E lyh'd cdaym_!" she said, slicing it open. Out of the pocket poured copious amounts of munny. "Takers keepers!" Rikku announced excitedly, scooping it up with the assistance of Yuna and Paine.

"Stupid little backstabbing…" Pete muttered. Paine turned around and glared at him with her red eyes.

"Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?" she growled. Pete whimpered as Paine turned her back on him. Sora grinned as he broke through the Heartless meat shield Pete had used to defend himself.

"Treasure hunters," Sora said in admiration. Yuna looked up from her work, smiling.

"Thank you," she said. Pete leapt up from the ground.

"I've had enough of this," he declared. He drew a large ball out of a pocket that had not been ripped in Rikku's hunt for munny, and rolled it at Sora. Acting on instinct, Sora deftly whacked the ball back at its master, where it exploded in a fireball upon impact, pushing Pete back onto the hard earth. Pete got back up from the ground. "Get out of my way!" he yelled, punching Sora back. As Sora staggered, Pete jumped up in the air and landed with a crash, creating a shockwave that sent Sora and the Gullwings crashing to the ground.

"Ow," Rikku said, massaging her posterior, "that hurts." Sora rose from the ground to see Pete menacingly advancing towards him. Sora leapt straight for Pete, artfully swinging his Keyblade in front of him, stringing a vicious combo against Pete's gut. Roxas then jumped in behind Pete and attacked him from the air, keeping him pinned between the three Keyblades.

_Pete's stamina is incredible,_ Roxas thought. Suddenly Pete rose into the air and a barrier formed around him, blocking him from attack.

"Ha ha," he laughed, pleased at his defences, "Pete's invincible!" Sora smirked and looked around for Max. He spotted him stabbing his sword through one of the few remaining Armoured Knights.

"Hey Max!" Sora called. Max turned and ran towards Sora.

"What is it Sora?" he asked. Sora nudged his head in the direction of the 'invincible' Pete.

"You see that giant sphere of a shield around Pete?" he asked. Max looked and nodded his head, perplexed as to how they were to get through it. Sora continued "I want you to whack it towards the cliffs with your sword as hard as you can." Max looked skeptically at Sora, but ran forward anyways.

"Take this Pete!" Max yelled as he threw his blow. Pete laughed as Max's weapon glanced off his shield, but he was quickly singing a different tune as he started rapidly rolling backwards towards the cliffs. With a resounding crash his shield broke and he tumbled to the ground in a heap. Sora smirked and raised the Oblivion, concentrating on the rising falls that used to be in Hollow Bastion.

"Water," Sora said. A jet of water streamed its way towards Pete, completely soaking and drenching him. Sora quickly shifted his focus from water to the frozen treat of ice cream. "Blizzaga!" he yelled. The water that had been soaking Pete suddenly froze, leaving him encased in a frozen prison. Kairi and the others finished off the Heartless and came to Sora's side.

"Cool," Yuna said in awe. Everyone groaned at her comment and Yuna looked around. "What?" she asked when they heard a shattering noise. Pete had broken free of his frozen packaging, shivering.

"That was cold," he stuttered thickly before retreating. "I'll take care of you nitwits next time!" he yelled as he conjured up a swirling portal of darkness, withdrawing from the Radiant Garden. _I won't tell Maleficent what just happened_, he thought privately, _those Nobodies and her don't need to know about this._

"Good riddance," Paine said, staring at the portal as it disappeared. Roxas and Naminé dismissed their Keyblades and the Radiant Garden gang looked on in astonishment as they faded from being solid to their regular spectral selves.

"Wha—" Leon began to ask, before shaking his head and stopping himself. He knew better than that. A light began to shine from Sora's pocket.

"Huh?" Max said as Sora retrieved the picture of his and Kairi's first kiss. Sora released it and the picture hovered in the air. He closed his eyes and held the Oblivion with both hands, a giant image of his three pointed crown pendant glowing on the ground under him. Wind came and swirled all around him, the currents whipping his spiked hair around and filling his vest like a sail. Great dark clouds in twilight appeared and an aura of light surrounded the picture. A shaft of light shot straight up from the aura into the air, creating a large keyhole. Sora looked up and leapt back, flourishing his Keyblade. A beam of light radiated from the Oblivion's tip and flowed into the keyhole. With a metallic click light began radiating out of the keyhole, bringing the landscape back to normal.

"What just happened?" Rikku asked. Sora turned to her.

"The road to a new world has opened," he answered. Kairi's face brightened in understanding.

"So that's what you meant," she said, Sora nodding. Leon looked at them.

"We should be able to handle ourselves here Sora," he said. "You should go, or else Maleficent might send those Nobodies after you." Sora nodded and motioned to his party, Roxas and Naminé flowing back into his and Kairi's minds.

-A-D-

Upon entering the bridge, Max brought up a holographic image of a map of the worlds, searching for the new one. Sora and Kairi were looking over his shoulder when something caught Sora's eyes. The Radiant Garden was now linked to a world with a large clock tower. Max looked down for the name.

"Sora, have you ever been to a place called Neverland?" he asked. Sora nodded, eyes glowing.

"Yeah, set a course for that world," he instructed, happiness creeping into his voice. "I want to see how Peter Pan and Wendy are doing." Max nodded and programmed the autopilot to take them to the new world, sighing when he completed his task.

"Fifteen hours until arrival," he said before his face brightened.

"Well, if it's going to take that long," Kairi said, yawning, "I'm going to go to bed." She lightly kissed Sora on the cheek. "Goodnight my love," she said with a smile and small giggle. Sora smiled and wistfully turned to her as she walked down the steps.

"Goodnight my beloved princess," he called softly. Kairi did not slow her pace.

"I thought I ordered you not to call me 'princess'?" she toyed playfully, before entering her room. Sora sighed and turned to Max who was staring at him.

"Rematch, no Nobodies, now!"

-A-D-

_So who is this Nobody named 'Nixion' that Pete was muttering about?_

_I was also going to be lazy and force you to think of the language Rikku and Yuna were speaking and then have their words translated, but I'll be nice so here they are (by the way, if you didn't know they were speaking Al Bhed):_

_Rikku: Do they know about the picture?_

_Yuna: I don't think so._

_Rikku: Guess they know now._

_Rikku: There ain't nothing I can't steal!_

_So those were the Al Bhed remarks in the chapter, translate right here for all of you. Please leave a review!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You!**_

_Shire Folk_


	11. Neverland

_I have a present for all of you, a new chapter!_

_And I am surprised, none of you took it upon yourselves to cheek me and write a review entirely in Al Bhed! I would have done it if I could review my own story. I don't mean to be rude, but it would have just been really funny and made my day._

_Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing of Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Peter Pan. _

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter XI: Neverland

Sora awoke feeling quite refreshed after beating Max again. Max had killed him twice this time, but he still led the board in kills. Smirking, Sora rose from his bed and proceeded to take a shower, getting ready for the upcoming day.

Donning his black adventuring outfit Sora walked out of his center room, the door 'whooshing' for him. Max and Kairi were already outside, waiting for him. Kairi walked up to him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. She broke off and smiled at him, her smile warming him. Max groaned and held his head in one hand.

"Are you guys going to do that all the time?" he asked. Sora and Kairi turned to look at him and smiled sheepishly. Max groaned again and sauntered off a little ways. "We still have five hours to kill," he said before turning back to them. "What are we going to do with it?" As a response, Sora's stomach growled. Kairi giggled as Sora looked down and placed a hand on it.

"We eat breakfast," Sora replied, "then we could train in the simulator or something." Max looked incredulously at him.

"Or something?" he asked. "What did you guys used to do in all this time in limbo?" Sora stared at him with a grin as he began walking off to the kitchen.

"We made the ship faster so we wouldn't have all this time between worlds," Sora replied. "But Chip and Dale didn't like our 'illegal' modifications of their design so they apparently put the ship back to the way it was." As Max pondered this, Sora walked away, Kairi at his side.

Taking some of Sora's words to heart, Max skipped breakfast and headed straight for the bridge. He cut the power to the engines slowly, so that Sora and Kairi wouldn't notice their change in velocity. His task done, Max made his way stealthily to the engine room, ready to begin 'tweaking'.

The engine room was a quite spacious bronze room with the control and diagnostic panel that controlled all four engines hooked up on the far end. On one side was a set of Gummi blocks used for repairs and modifications, and on the other side was an airlock with three anti-gravity spacesuits used in order to complete repairs on the ship's hull when in space. Max looked at his supplies. He had a welding torch, four extra engines that could be expanded to their true size when installed, lengths upon lengths of wires and cords, and a computer system showing the ship's total power capacity and where each percent of that power went. Going up to the master system, Max completely drained the engine's power so that they wouldn't flare up if Sora or Kairi went to the bridge to restart them. And to compensate, he segmented the extra power to Live Support and Vital Systems. Satisfied, Max donned one of the suits and grabbed an engine.

_It's going to be a long day,_ he thought.

-A-D-

Five hours later, the very same five hours Max said it would take to arrive, Max's 'maintenance' job on the engines was only a quarter completed. He had only been able to install one extra engine, as the whole process had proven more difficult than he first imagined. The whole process was much more complicated and detailed than he had ever anticipated. He was sitting glumly on the floor of the engine room with his head in his hands.

_I'm in way over my head,_ he thought. _We could be there already, but now we're just sitting here, all because of my impatience._ Suddenly Max heard footsteps behind him, he turned to see Sora and Kairi standing there, their expressions unreadable.

"Hey," Max said glumly. Sora nodded, before striding towards the master system. While Sora examined it, Kairi walked up to Max and knelt down beside him.

"We were worried about you," she began, "we didn't know where you were." Max nodded his head and sighed shakily.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. Kairi giggled.

"Don't worry about it," she said, comforting him by placing an arm over his shoulders. "We were just wondering what you were doing down here." Max looked up, glancing between Kairi and Sora.

"I was trying to install extra engines to make the ship travel faster," he explained. "That way we wouldn't have as much time lost in transit." Sora turned around from the computer screen, chuckling.

"Well trying is right," he said, grinning. "You only managed to get one hooked up." Sora shook his head, "Why didn't you ask us to help? Especially since you knew I had already worked on this ship." Max looked helplessly at Sora.

"I guess," Max began, "I wasn't thinking." The trio laughed aloud.

"Come on," Sora said, grabbing an engine gummi block, "You've already started, so let's finish the job. Neverland can wait a little longer."

-A-D-

That afternoon was one of the most enjoyable Max had had in a while. Although work got done slowly since both Max and Kairi were inexperienced, with the three of them together they were able to talk and chat about nearly everything while working. Their friendship grew to a new level, and the work was even fun.

The job was finally done a further six hours later, with Sora and Max working on the computer to reset the ship's power percentages.

"And," Sora said, pressing the apply button, "we are done!" Kairi wiped her brow behind them.

"I'm going to have a shower," she announced, "tell me how long it will take to get to Neverland when I get out." Kairi then walked away, and Max turned to Sora as they made the journey to the _Highwind_'s bridge.

"So what is Neverland like anyway?" he asked.

"Well," Sora replied sadly, "you might have to sit the first part out. There is a city where Wendy lives, and the people there are probably going to lock you up in a circus if they see you." Max looked down glumly. "But don't worry," Sora added hastily, seeing the look on Max's face. "As soon as we actually get to Never-Neverland you will be able to come down onto the world, because nobody there would discriminate you." Max brightened as he looked up.

"Never-Neverland is the place where you, Donald, and my dad first learned to fly right?" he asked as they entered the bridge. Sora nodded with a smile as he approached the console. Activating the engines, Sora gasped in surprise at the ETA. It had decreased from five hours to fifteen minutes! Max, hearing his gasp, looked questioningly at Sora.

"Fifteen minutes," Sora choked out. Max's eyes widened.

"Ho-ly crap," he muttered, looking at the screen in awe. Suddenly he grinned. "Guess it was worth it to add the extra engines eh?" Sora weakly nodded, before shaking his head.

"I'm going to follow Kairi's example and have a shower," he said. Before he could leave, Max stopped him with an outstretched hand.

"Take these," he ordered. Sora looked down at Max's hand. In it were three flesh-coloured earpieces. Sora looked inquiringly at the boy next to him. "They're communication devices," Max smugly explained. "I made them out of spare com gummi blocks last night. Just touch it with your finger and you can talk to everyone else with an earpiece. I thought that this world might be a good field test for them." Sora nodded in approval and grabbed two, one for him and one for Kairi before walking away.

_That boy just keeps amazing me,_ he thought.

-A-D-

Fifteen minutes later, Sora and Kairi were standing on the transporter, ready to be digitized down to the world's surface. Sora placed a finger to his ear.

"Max, can you hear me?" he asked. Sora heard the crackle of empty static before Max's voice came on.

"Loud and clear Sora," he said. "Ready to go?" Kairi nodded her head and placed a finger to her ear.

"Beam us down Max," she ordered. Suddenly white beams of light engulfed them, and in the blink of an eye they were gone. On the surface, they stood in front of a condominium. It was dark, cold, and snowing. They were in the middle of a city, divided in two by a river. A large clock tower, Big Ben, could be seen if they turned their heads. Sora looked up at the numbers on the doors of the condo. They were standing in front of number fourteen. The cold suddenly caught up to the two teens and they began shivering.

"Why," Kairi asked through chattering teeth, "why are we here?"

"I don't know Kairi," Sora said. "But there is always a reason we land where we do." He looked apprehensively at Kairi; she was shivering uncontrollably. _She has to be freezing in only that breastplate,_ Sora thought, noticing that it only went just above her bosom, leaving her shoulders and arms bare. He shuddered from the cold and removed his vest, placing it over Kairi's shoulders. She clutched it tightly, praying that it would help somewhat.

"Thank you," she said quietly, before Sora planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Let's get inside," he said quickly, placing an arm around her. "Hopefully the people who live here are nice." They quickly walked up to the door. A wreath and holly adorned it around the brass knocker. Sora reached for it with his free hand and knocked three times. They waited, shivering, in silence for a few seconds when the door opened. Inside was an aged woman with curly white hair. She had an air about her of welcoming expected guests but when she saw Sora and Kairi she gasped.

"Oh, you two must be so cold outside, come in, come in," she said hastily in an English accent, waving them inside. The duo muttered a grateful thank you to the old woman as they stepped inside, Kairi shaking the snow out of her crimson locks. When they had brushed themselves off, Sora gazed at the woman in wonder. She caught his look and spoke before Sora could question her. "I'm used to bringing in orphans," she said kindly. "And you two appeared to be in a spot of trouble. I was actually expecting guests tonight, and Liza accidentally prepared an extra room. If you two need a place to spend the night…?" Kairi gazed warmly at her.

"We aren't orphans," she explained, "but we'd love to spend the night since you're gracious enough to extend your hospitality." The woman nodded, and began lead them into the sitting room. A large Christmas tree was situated on the left side near the window. There was a large couch directly in front of the crackling fireplace, and towards the right there were end tables and paintings depicting marvellous scenes. A door led from the right side of the room to a dining room and kitchen. All in all, the place had a rather homely feel.

"Liza," the old woman called. "We have guests." A nicely plump woman with curly red hair came out from the dining room. She screamed in excitement when she saw Sora and Kairi.

"Oh aren't you two the cutest couple I've ever seen!" she let out, rushing them and embracing them in a hug. Kairi looked over Liza's shoulders at Sora and they faintly blushed when their eyes met. "You'll be staying the night I expect in the spirit of the season," Liza continued, letting them go. "And you're names are?" Sora stopped to catch his breath.

"Sora," he answered, massaging his chest.

"Kairi," she said, extending her hand, likewise out of breath. Liza shook her hand and hurried back to the kitchens saying that she would set two extra places. The old woman then led them up the stairs.

"You'll have to excuse Liza," she said. "She gets rather festive at this time of year." Kairi giggled.

"Most people do," she said. "I know my mother does." The woman nodded before opening a door.

"I'm pretty sure Jack and Maggie, my great-grandchildren," she added, seeing Sora's confused look, "won't mind sleeping in the nursery, well, you two can have this room." Sora entered and looked around. It was a square room, with two simple beds inside. "This is the spare guest room," she said. Suddenly she became inquisitive. "Where exactly are you two from?" she asked. Sora stiffened as he quickly thought up a story.

"We're from some islands a ways away," he said. "And we came here to visit some old friends." The woman nodded her head before hearing the doorknocker.

"Excuse me," she said, "that will be my grandchildren." She bowed out of the room as Kairi entered.

"Nice save," she praised, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow and handing back Sora's vest. He took it and wrapped it around his navy and orange t-shirt.

"There is something familiar about that woman," he said, hearing Liza's scream of excitement. "I don't exactly know how, but it seems like I know her from somewhere." Kairi nodded.

"I know," she added quietly. "I sensed something too." They were silent for a while, contemplating this phenomenon.

"We should probably call Max," Kairi said, breaking the silence. "Tell him we're spending the night down here." Sora nodded and relayed the information to Max on his earpiece, astounded at the capabilities of his invention. Quietly they left the room, to see the aged woman standing on the top of the stairs looking down at the back of a man with brown hair who was explaining to Liza which bags belonged to which people.

"Hello boy," she uttered quietly. The man turned and Sora could see that he was wearing glasses.

"Hello Wendy," he said. Sora's gazed flashed between Wendy and the man.

_No,_ he thought, _it couldn't be…_

_Hey, stranger things have happened._

Another woman with curled blonde hair approached from behind the man.

"I told you Gran I'd get him here," she said, "by hook or by crook." The man walked towards Wendy as she descended the stairs.

"Sorry it's been so long between visits Gran," he apologized.

"It's been ten years between visits," Wendy said hastily, "but never mind. Come here and give me a squdge." She quickly embraced him in a hug. Kairi looked at Sora.

"Wendy," she whispered, "Is that the same Wendy who was captured with me?" Sora didn't look away from the scene.

"I don't know," he whispered back, inclining his head towards Kairi. Wendy and the man broke apart, and Wendy began greeting each member of her family.

"Oh Moira, Moira, Moira," she said, hugging her granddaughter. When she released her Wendy gasped in shock. "And this lovely lady can't- it can't be Maggie."

"Yes it can," a little girl with blonde hair and a tartan beret said. "And know what Great-Grandma? I just played you at school."

"And don't you just look the part," Wendy said before she gasped when she gazed down at a boy wearing a blue baseball cap. "Oh, who can this be?" she asked. "Why, why can this giant be Jack? How much you've grown in a year!" Jack approached his great-grandmother.

"I'm supposed to tell you," he said slowly, "about congratulations for opening the, orphan hospital and how great the dedication is, and yeah." Wendy nodded.

"Thank you, very much," she said before looking up the stairs. "Come down you two," she said, seeing the teens in the shadows. Kairi looked apprehensively at Sora as the family below began looking up inquiringly. Sora sighed and grabbed Kairi's hand, walking down the stairs with her a step behind. "This is Sora and Kairi," Wendy said, allowing them to shake hands with the man and Moira. Wendy quickly ushered the duo into line with the family. "They're visiting some old friends of theirs," Wendy said, "and they'll be spending the night here. Now there is one rule I insist obeyed while you are in my house," she said sternly to all of them. "No growing up." Maggie, Sora, and Kairi giggled. "Stop," Wendy continued, "this very instant. That includes you Mr. Chairman of the Board Banning." The man chuckled.

"Sorry. Too late, Gran," he said.

"And what is so terribly important about your terribly important business?" Wendy asked. Before the man could answer Jack stepped forward.

"Well you see," he began with the air of explaining something very important, "whenever a big company's in trouble, Dad sails in." Wendy nodded in understanding and Jack continued. "And if there's any resistance Dad-" his father suddenly cut him off.

"He's exaggerating. I'm actually still in mergers and acquisitions and I'm dabbling into some land development."

"Any resistance," Jack continued with a flourish. "And he blows them out of the water!" He then made several blasting noises, but Wendy looked strangely at Jack's father.

"So, Peter," she said. "You've become a pirate." Sora let out a shallow gasp that only Kairi could hear. She looked at him strangely. Before he could respond, Liza called that it was diner time.

"We'll talk later," Sora muttered to her as Peter led the way to the dining room.

-A-D-

It was a couple of hours later, and Sora and Kairi were in the room Wendy had lent them. They were both contemplating the current situation.

"So," Kairi began. "Why exactly did Wendy look strangely at Peter when she said that he'd become a pirate?" Naminé faded in.

"Maybe Peter is Peter Pan?" she asked.

"No way," Roxas said, appearing. "He can't be Peter Pan. He's middle-aged. Peter Pan is a boy about twelve."

"But if that's Wendy," Sora said from the bed, "then it could be logical that he's Peter Pan." Kairi placed a finger to her chin.

"But, Wendy was only about twelve when Captain Hook captured her and I was without my heart." She began tapping her foot. "How could she now be about ninety?"

"I think time may work differently for different worlds," Naminé said. Just then they heard Peter yell from down the hall.

"Shut up! Will you just shut up, and leave me alone for one moment? Moira get them out of here, I'm on the phone-call of my life." Roxas and Naminé vanished as Sora and Kairi looked down the hall. Moira was ushering a scared Jack and Maggie out of her room into Wendy's arms. Wendy was wearing a pretty purple dress and had a feather boa around her shoulders.

"Come on now you two," she said comfortingly to Jack and Maggie. "I'll show you the window where your father and I used to blow out the stars." Kairi looked at Sora with a smile.

"We should go too," she said sweetly, resting her head on his shoulder. Sora nodded and followed Wendy.

"You only get to be a kid once," he said, entering the nursery. They looked around the circular room. A large window was situated in the middle on the opposite side, with two beds flanking it. Upon the walls were murals of a fabulous place, with mountains, ships, Indians, and mermaids. But one drawing caught Sora's eye. It was of a man, all dressed in red with a red-feathered hat on the prow of a boat, crashing through the white waves.

Sora chilled at the sight of the man. "Hook," he said quietly. Wendy turned to look at him.

"Oh, so you've read the books?" she asked, before quickly turning away and setting up a makeshift tent in the center of the nursery with a bed sheet. "Come," she said, gesturing to the group. Jack declined and stood by the open window, ball glove in hand. Wendy sat down inside the tent and patted the ground beside her. Maggie quickly nestled herself down on Wendy's right side and Sora and Kairi took the left. Wendy pulled a book seemingly from out of nowhere.

"All children, except one, grow up." Wendy said, opening her book. "Now, you know where fairies come from don't you Maggie, and maybe you too Kairi?" she asked, before reciting along with Maggie. "When the first baby laughed, for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about. That is the beginning of fairies. And look," She turned the page to reveal a picture of a young girl gazing out of a windowsill. "I'm Wendy," she said with a pause, "or was a long time ago." Sora's eyes grew wide in shock.

_I knew it!_ Roxas yelled in his mind. Maggie looked up at Wendy.

"But Jack says you're not the really real Wendy."

"Ah, well you see where Jack is?" Wendy asked, pointing at him. "That is the same window, and this is the same room where we made up bedtime stories about Peter Pan, and Neverland, and scary old Captain Hook. And did you know our neighbour Mr. Barrie, well Sir James, he liked them all so much, that he wrote them all down in a book, oh eighty years ago?"

"You're really old." Maggie said. Wendy nodded, turning the page.

"That's very true," she said. "But there was one story we didn't tell Mr. Barrie." Sora, Kairi, Maggie, and even Jack perked up in interest. "Once, in Neverland," Wendy began, "Captain Hook kidnapped Wendy, and another girl by the name of Kairi who had bright red hair." Wendy looked around at those around her, seeing Jack having come closer to sit next to his sister, when her eyes caught sight of Kairi. "She actually looked a lot like you," Wendy said while looking at Kairi.

Sora and his girlfriend grinned and looked at each other before letting Wendy continue. "He placed them on his ship, and a boy with silver hair by the name of Riku came with an evil witch called Maleficent. Together with Hook they held the girls captive from Peter Pan and a trio of strange warriors from another world. One was a large dog-man called Goofy another was a duck by the name of Donald. And the third," Wendy continued slowly, looking strangely at Sora, "was a young boy with spiky brown hair by the name of Sora." She shook her head slightly and looked back down at Maggie. "Instead of using pirates, as was Hook's custom being a pirate captain, together the three villains used a being called a Heartless that took the shape of a pirate."

"Now the boy, Sora, held a mystical weapon called a Keyblade which legend had it was the only weapon that could combat the Heartless." Jack looked on in excitement, he like many boys, loved tales of combat. Sora on the other hand, instead of listening intently to his last adventure in Neverland like Jack, was looking warmly at Kairi, whose eyes were twinkling.

"Where have I heard this before?" Kairi asked him quietly, before they leant together and Kairi softly kissed his lips, joyously thankful that they were together and whole unlike the time Wendy was speaking about. She pulled back. "Thank you for trying to save me back then," Kairi whispered.

"Anytime," Sora replied, smiling warmly at her. Wendy, Jack, and Maggie looked at them; Jack's face was one of revulsion.

"Gross," he said, getting up and walking back to the window. Maggie giggled as Sora and Kairi broke apart slowly. Kairi joined Maggie in giggling as Sora chuckled at Jack.

"Though luck kid," Sora said. "One day you're going to fall in love; then you won't find it so gross." Kairi laughed.

"Sora, you used to think kissing gross?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied, "at least a few years ago." Kairi giggled as Sora flashed a goofy grin and she kissed him on the cheek. Wendy broke them apart with an inquiring glance and well placed question.

"Kairi, what do you mean 'where have I heard this before'?" Sora and Kairi froze in place. They knew that they had just let it slip. Wendy continued with her interrogation. "Did your parents perhaps tell you this, because I haven't told anyone until now?" Sora looked into Kairi's eyes.

"Well," he said, smiling slightly, "guess we've gotta come clean then."

"I guess we'd better," Kairi answered.

Sora looked at Wendy, really looked at her. "It looks like it's been a lot longer for you than it has been for me, Wendy," he said. "You've really changed."

Wendy's eyes widened in surprise and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Then they brightened and a smile came to her face. "So it is you," she said quietly. "I thought you seemed familiar." Wendy turned back to Maggie and was about to continue telling the story when Peter appeared behind them, all dressed up in a tux.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But I need to steal granny Wendy, or she's going to be late for the most important event of her life."

"Oh no daddy," Maggie complained. "Great-Grandma was telling us a story." Wendy quickly patted her shoulder.

"No, no dear, it's alright," she comforted. "I'll tell you the rest tomorrow." She quickly got up, and helped Peter and Moira get Jack and Maggie into bed. Sora noticed Peter holding by Jack's bed and giving him a watch before they were ushered out. "Dear nightlights," Wendy said as they left the room, "protect my sleeping babes. Burn clear and steadfast tonight." Sora and Kairi looked up at Wendy, as she looked down at the two of them.

"I remember you two now, Sora and Kairi. And I'm glad to see that you're awake now Kairi," she said quietly, placing her hands on their shoulders. "Watch over them." Kairi nodded.

"Don't worry Wendy," she said, "we will. I promise." Sora bowed low.

"It will be an honour," he said. Wendy smiled at the two of them before following Peter and Moira out.

-A-D-

Later that night, Sora and Kairi were in their room, discussing with Roxas and Naminé how Wendy could be so old. Abruptly, they heard Nana, Wendy's sheepdog, barking. Roxas went to the window.

"Wonder what it could be about," he said, looking down. Before they had wondered about it long, they could hear the voice of Toodles on the couch in the sitting room.

"Hook! Hook! Hook!" he was yelling, in time with Nana's barks. Suddenly, a green light began coming from the window, and Roxas turned to face the room. Screams began coming from the nursery.

"Maggie and Jack!" Kairi yelled in anxiety as Roxas and Naminé flooded back into the confines of their minds. She bolted out of the room, Sora on her heels. Kairi ripped open the doors of the nursery, the Oathkeeper already in her hands. The room was bathed in the green light that was flooding in from the open window, and a cruel and menacing laughter was in the air. Kairi gasped, but before she or Sora could register what was happening darkness took them, and they collapsed unconscious on the floor, Oathkeeper vanishing, and the door closing.

-A-D-

Sora awoke in pain as a woman's heeled shoe stepped on his back. More pain came to him as more footsteps fell on his back, and one on his head. He heard a small yelp of pain next to him and rubbed his head. Sora had half turned his head towards the girl next to him on the floor when pairs of shoes ran him over again. He groaned loudly and he slowly sat upright. Not hearing the words being spoken, Sora looked over at Kairi and kindly helped her up into a sitting position. Kairi placed her head in her hand, wincing.

"What just happened?" she asked aloud. Finally, they were able to catch the words being spoken. An old man by the name of Toodles had entered the room mysteriously, and was talking.

"Have to fly," he said, advancing towards Peter, "have to fight, have to crow. Have to save Maggie, have to save Jack, Hook is back." Peter just stared at Toodles.

"Who?" he asked. Wendy fainted, and Sora and Kairi finally stood up, woozy.

"Someone mind telling us what's going on," Sora said wearily. Peter rounded on him.

"Why don't you tell me?" he roared forcefully. Sora was so taken aback that he flailed his arms and fell back down. "You were here! Where are my children? What have you done with them?"

"We haven't done anything!" Sora retorted. "We heard screams and saw a strange green light, but as soon as we got in here we passed out! It's not our fault!! We wouldn't break a promise to Wendy unless we couldn't do anything to avoid it." Peter would have continued had Moira not placed a hand on his shoulder.

"They're just kids dear," she said kindly, her voice betraying that she was upset. "And why would they have been lying on the floor like that if they had kidnapped them?" Fuming, Peter stalked out of the room, just missing the dagger stuck to the door.

-A-D-

A while later, Sora and Kairi were again in their room, except now they were both moping on their beds. Wondering how this could have happened.

"How Sora," Kairi asked, breaking the silence. "How could we have lost consciousness?" Sora shook his head.

"I don't know how Kairi," he replied, before his gaze hardened. "But if Hook took them, he must have gone to Neverland. That's where the kids are, and we're going to get them back." Kairi gasped.

"But how?" she asked. "The pixie dust is still at home, right?" Sora grinned and took the box out of one of his numerous pockets. Kairi's eyes widened in excitement before Sora sprinkled a pinch of the golden dust over her. They stood up, and had just left the room when they heard Peter yell from inside the nursery.

"I do not believe in fairies!" Kairi looked at Sora.

"Tink?" she asked. Sora became highly interested, and he opened the door to the nursery. Inside Peter was kneeling in front of an open dollhouse. A tiny figure in green with wings and red hair was inside the house, spread-eagled on the ground.

"Clap your hands Peter," the girl whispered. "It's the only way to save me." Peter began clapping his hands together quietly and Sora grinned at what Tink was doing. "Louder," Tink whispered, and Peter clapped a little louder. She became frustrated at his lack of volume and raised her head off the ground to glare at him. "Louder Peter!" she yelled before pretending to play dead again. Sora chuckled slightly and he and Kairi began to clap as well, just to keep it going. Peter was clapping very hard now.

"Okay I'm clapping! I'm clapping!" he said. Tink smiled and got up off the rug in the dollhouse. "Thank God," Peter said, not noticing Sora and Kairi. "You're alive." Tink smiled and stood next to a doll in the kitchen.

"All right now," she asked. "Who am I?" Peter sighed in thought before coming up with an answer suitable for a psychiatrist, even though he is a lawyer.

"You're um… You're a complex Freudian hallucination having something to do with my mother and I don't know why you have wings, but you have very lovely legs and you're a very nice tiny person, and what am I saying? I don't know who my mother was, I'm an orphan, and I've never taken drugs because I missed the 60's, I was an accountant." Tink flew up from the house.

"Guess again," she laughed, pulling the rug up from under his feet. Sora and Kairi laughed, as Peter lay dazed on the ground.

"She's Tinkerbell," Sora said, attracting Tink's attention as she wrapped Peter up in a bed sheet.

"Sora! Kairi!" she exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again!" Sora nodded his head at her. Peter was still gazing at the ceiling.

"Oh, stars," he said. Tink chuckled.

"That's right Peter," she said, "second star to the right and straight on 'till morning. Neverland."

"Good to see you too Tink," Sora said before cocking his head. "Is that what you did at the spa?" he asked. "Dye your hair red?"

"The spa?" Tink asked, not quite remembering as she rose into the air with Peter in tow. Sora and Kairi rose with her and flanked the bed sheet.

"You know Tink," Kairi said. "I thought it would be hard to get out of your head since it was only five days ago." Tink gaped at them as they flew past Big Ben through the night air.

"Five days?" she exclaimed. "Sora, Kairi, it's been a year!" The two teens faltered for a few moments, dropping several feet.

"I guess Naminé was right," Kairi said when they regained altitude. "Time does work differently in different worlds."

Onwards they flew, but Kairi had never flown for so long before. And despite the joy and exhilaration that flying brings, she was soon sleeping peacefully in Sora's arms. He looked down and beheld his princess as he flew in Tinkerbell's wake.

"Don't worry Kairi," he cooed softly. "I'll never let you fall." To Sora it seemed as if Kairi had heard him and she smiled in her sleep, suddenly cuddling closer to him. "Sleep well my love," Sora said softly, pecking her on the cheek. Tink looked back at them and then sharply turned her head back around, jealousy tainting her cheeks. Then quite suddenly the jealousy was gone, and she smiled.

_Sora isn't really my type anyway_, she thought, him not being from this world and all.

-A-D-

Much later, Sora and Tink were flying over clouds when they saw below them a large star-shaped island, with a compass rose etched into the sea around it. Tink led him down to the Pirate town nearby Hook's ship. Peter landed on a wooden bridge in the town with a soft thump and Sora landed next to it, Kairi stirring in his arms. He placed her down on a bench, where she woke with a great, cute, yawn. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she smiled fondly at Sora.

"Morning sleepy," Sora said, kissing her passionately. She held the kiss for several moments before Peter's grunting broke them.

"Oh, what a nightmare!" he groaned. "Moira!" Peter stuck a finger out of a hole in the sheet and twisted it around. Slowly, he ripped open the sheets to reveal the town. Directly in front of him was a large crocodile with a clock in its open mouth. Pirates were walking about everywhere beneath them as the morning business opened up. The party suddenly became aware of the vendor's calls.

"Neverbirds!" one yelled. "Three for a farthing!"

"Pies for sale!"

"Fish! Fresh fish! We keep the eyes in so they see you through the week!" Peter stood up and began walking around.

"Excuse me," he said to a pirate sitting down with a hangover, "is there a payphone anywhere nearby?" The pirate merely looked strangely at him. "That is so real," Peter said, walking away.

"Peter!" Tink called from the sheets. "Get back here! Get down, get low!" But Peter didn't hear her and walked straight into a gaggle of pirates that took fancy to his shiny shoes.

"Tinkerball!" Peter called as he backed away from being gutted. "Tinkerbun! Help me Tinkerbell!" Tink quickly flew in with Sora and Kairi, and they quickly dealt with the pirates, rendering them all unconscious with blows to the head. They garbed Peter in the clothes of the fallen, and Tink instructed Peter on how to act as a pirate. Peter hobbled his way through the streets with Tinkerbell resting on his hat while Sora and Kairi took to the air to follow them over rooftops. As Peter was backing up from having successfully greeted a pirate in pirate fashion a blacksmith placed a polished iron hook on a red velvet pillow a pudgy man was carrying. Sora glanced at the man, recognizing him.

"That's Smee," he whispered to Kairi, "Hook's first mate." Smee began walking through the streets towards a ship, a crowd following in his wake shouting, "Hook! Hook! Hook! Give us the Hook! Hook! Show us the Hook!"

"Follow that hook!" Tinkerbell ordered from the brim of Peter's hat. Sora and Kairi followed over the rooftops, watching with interest. Smee carried the hook onto the ship and stepped through a door to the Capt.'s Cabin. Sora and Kairi landed in the crow's nest while Peter took a spot in the rear of the crowd, Tink hopping behind a glass on a barrel. They all peered at Smee as he reappeared, carrying a funnel he used for making announcements.

"Good morning Neverland!" Smee yelled into the funnel. The pirates returned his greeting earnestly. "Tie down the main mast maties," said Smee, raising his right palm and lowering the funnel. "Cause here he is- the cunning king fish, the bad barracuda. A man so deep, he's almost unfathomable." Kairi swore she could hear crickets chirping and Sora chuckled a little at how stupid the pirates were. Smee gestured with his arms in displeasure. "A man so quick," he restated, "he's even fast asleep." The crew burst out in laughter and the dynamic duo atop the crow's nest chuckled at them. "Thank you," continued Smee as he began walking back up the steps. "Now let's give him a very big hand, cause he's only got one." He paused for laughter and motioned towards the door. "I give you, the steel-handed stingray! Captain James Hook!" The crowd started chanting, "Hook!" as their captain left his private chambers. A man with long twirling black hair, bushy eyebrows and a curling moustache wearing a pointed black hat with white feathers, and a long red coat walked towards the edge of the upper deck and exchanged a few choice words with Smee before addressing his chanting minions.

"Well my stupid, sorry, parasitic sacks of entrails," Captain Hook began. Sora ducked down, his face screwed up and a hand on his forehead. It was all he could do to keep him from bursting out laughing. He glanced next to him to see Kairi lying on the wood, clutching her ribs and silently giggling her heart out. Hook continued in his speech, completely unaware of the scene atop his observation platform. "Revenge is mine." A man in the front of the crowd let out a shout.

"Long live the Hook!" Cpt. Hook pointed his hook at the pirate.

"I baited that hook and now I'm very proud to announce," a smile formed on his lips, "we have his children." The crowd began chanting, "Long live the Hook," but Peter's reacting was quite different.

"Oh my God," he said quietly to himself, "Jack, Maggie."

"Finally I'm going to kill Peter Pan," Hook yelled quite pleased, "that cocky boy who cut off my hand and fed it to the crocodile!" Hook paused for a second. "And who killed that cunning crocodile?" he questioned his men.

"Hook!" answered they.

"Who stuffed him?"

"Hook!"

"Who made him into a quiet clock?"

"Hook!"

"Who went into the other world and stole Pan's children?"

"Hook!"

"And who didn't believe I could do it?" Hook asked. "Who doubted me?" he barked. "Who among us does not belong? Someone here does not belong, a stranger amongst the loyal. I will weed you out." Sora and Kairi ducked down again, discomfort seizing them. Should Hook look up and spot them, they would surely have every pirate in town hunting them. It was a little easier for Peter, being in the back of the crowd, yet he still shifted uneasily. "You," Hook said, pointing with his steel appendage into the crowd, each pirate motioning towards himself as if he meant him alone. "You!" Hook growled. "Yes you-" he said taking a step down before looking at his feet and backing up. "Where's the carpet Smee?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry sir," Smee apologized, banging his foot on the deck. Each stair flipped around revealing a red carpet underneath. Captain James Hook then moved down the steps muttering, 'you' and shoving pirates aside until he came to two at the back. One was Peter, wearing a purple cloak, a black eye-patch, and had a wooden cane. The other was a middle-aged pirate with a head of frazzled grey hair and beard. Hook moved towards this pirate and Peter deftly moved out of the way, switching his eye-patch from being over his right eye to his left so he could see better.

"You bet against me bringing Pan back here didn't you?" Hook asked.

"No," the pirate replied.

"Tell your captain the truth," Hook said. There was a pause before the pirate broke down and started sobbing. Hook's face became sympathetic. "Aw, say it."

"I did," the pirate mumbled. Hook nodded slightly.

"Yes you did."

"I did."

"Yes, you made a boo-boo," his captain said sympathetically before turning to another pirate. "The Boo box," Hook ordered.

"No not that!" the frazzled treacherous pirate yelped. "Not the Boo box! No!" He was lifted up and taken away by four pirates who placed him in a chest. One then lifted a hole in the top up and dropped two poisonous black scorpions on him, each with a 'boo'. Kairi winced.

"That's barbaric," she whispered to Sora, a hand over her mouth in shock. He inclined his head towards her.

"That's what pirates do," he said. "You may see worse things in Port Royal." Kairi looked at Sora before her attention was brought back when a large net was hoisted up from the ship's hold, with Jack and Maggie trapped inside.

"Let me down!" Jack roared.

"I want my mommy!" cried Maggie, "I want my daddy!" Hook turned around, his expression sarcastic.

"Hello children," he said. "Comfy? Cozy?" Peter had seen enough.

"Those are my kids!" he yelled, silencing the pirates and ripping his disguise off. Sora slapped his forehead and Kairi turned her head and gazed quizzically at Sora.

"Hey," she said, "you'd do the same thing if those were our kids." Sora turned his head away from the scene below and looked at Kairi.

"Yeah, but we don't have kids, we're only fifteen!" he argued before becoming inquisitive himself. "Wait, you want kids?" he asked. Kairi nodded, both of them completely forgetting about the situation below.

"Of course," she said brightly. "That is," Kairi added hastily, "not now of course. I would like to have kids after we're married."

"How many?" Sora asked, leaning his back against the wall of the crow's nest.

Kairi placed a finger to her lips in thought. "You know, I'm not really sure. Two, three? Maybe four?"

"Four!?" Sora asked, his eyes widening. "You want _four_ kids?" Kairi smiled sheepishly at him and Sora let out a dry chuckle. "Glad to know you're thinking of the future," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kairi pursed her lips as he held her.

"But what would we do for careers Sora?" she asked. "You can't fight Heartless and Nobodies for forever, and how does that support a family anyway?" Sora began rubbing her back.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I've forgotten all plans of what I had wanted to be after the Heartless came and destroyed the islands. I haven't really had a thought to spare about the not-so distant future." They suddenly jerked up and cautiously looked over the rim again hearing Hook's voice. Peter was lying on a mast, Jack and Maggie in the net with their arms outstretched only a few feet away.

"Smee, I don't understand. Why doesn't he fly? Is he not Peter Pan?" Hook asked his first mate.

"He's Peter Pan all right Captain," Smee explained slowly. "He's just been away from Neverland so long, his mind's been junk-tified. He's forgotten everything." Sora looked down sadly at Peter, who was simply clinging on to the mast in the silence that began.

"Then he's even forgotten us," Sora said slowly, his voice catching. Kairi looked in worry at Sora and she placed a comforting hand on his cheek. "It's happening all over again," Sora sighed. "Except this time, I'm not asleep, but awake."

"No Sora," Kairi told him firmly. "It's only with Peter, not anyone else. Tink still remembered you, Wendy still did, and Hook probably does too." She turned his head towards her, forcing him to look into her bright blue eyes and smell her perfume. "And I'll never forget you," she finished softly before Hook's words carried up to them again.

"Gentlemen," he said. "I am afraid I have decided, to cancel the war." The men on deck roared in disapproval and several who were on the netting pushed Peter off the mast, causing him to swing by the foot of his that was caught in a rope.

"He can't fly but he can swim!" one shouted.

"Kill them," Hook continued, waving his arm. "Kill them all." Jack and Maggie screamed as pirates brought a familiar plank aboard to make Peter walk across. Sora clenched his teeth as he bristled with anger, Oblivion appearing in full in his right hand.

"We get him?" Kairi growled, Oathkeeper materializing. Sora nodded and they took to the skies like speeding bullets, disappearing into the clouds before any could see them. Quickly they manoeuvred themselves behind the captain while high above his sight and they could vaguely make out his cry of, "And I never want to hear the name 'Peter Pan' again!" Sora descended upon him just as Tinkerbell confronted the captain.

"Is that how you want to be remembered?" she asked while Kairi landed. "As a bully? Or as the great warrior who defeated a heroic Pan?" She pulled out her tiny dagger and stuck it in Hook's nose. "One week and we'll get him in shape. Then you can have your dirty, old, war." Smee ran up the steps and pulled out a pistol, trying to decide whom to shoot. Quickly he chose Tinkerbell.

"It's a trick captain," he said roughly, pointing the pistol at Tink, who was hovering in front of Hook's face. "Let me blast that buzzing vixen to Pixie hell." Tink flew away as he said this, leaving Smee pointing the gun straight at Hook's head. Hook took the pistol in his hand and pointed it around, so its barrel was aiming at its master. The captain turned to look at Tink, who was standing with her back turned to him on the banister.

"Two days," he said. Tink swivelled her head around.

"Four: bare minimum for a decent Pan."

"Three. Final offer." Tink turned around, her arms crossed.

"Done," she said. Hook offered her his steel hook, which she shook.

"And you'd better deliver Miss Bell," he warned. "Or no amount of clapping will bring you back from where I will send you." The captain paused, and turned to the two Keyblade wielding teens. "And who are you?" he asked. "I do not believe I invited you to these festivities." Sora cocked his head at Cpt. Hook.

"Um, hello," Sora said, tapping the Oblivion against the wood, "Keyblade Master." Upon hearing the word 'Keyblade', Hook froze. A scowl formed on his face.

"You!" he yelled, before turning his Hook to Kairi. "And you! I thought you looked familiar. I see you have your heart back Princess, but how can you two still look like this after eighty years? You should be decrepit old fossils by now." Sora smirked, the knowledge that just over a year to him had become eighty years irked him, but just the ability of freaking Hook out with his youth made him smile.

"Time works differently in other worlds Hook," said Sora.

"So it would seem," Hook scowled. "Perhaps you being here will help Pan remember his past better," he postulated before turning to his lackeys. "Hear me men," he said. "On account of good form I have decided that the so-called Pan shall return in three days time to commence the arbitrement of the sword. Smee translate."

"In three days we're going to have a war," Smee announced. "A battle between good and evil, to the death!" The pirates reacted joyously, a little too enthusiastic though, as one pirate accidentally knocked Peter backwards onto the plank and he bounced off into the waters below.

"Peter!" Sora, Kairi, and Tinkerbell yelled in panic. With haste they flew overboard and saw Peter sinking beneath the surface, mouthing, 'Help me.' They sadly watched him sink into the clear aqua water.

"What now?" Kairi asked, as Tink turned to them.

"Oh, the mermaids will save him," she scowled. "We'd better head to old man's tree, so we can pretend to be surprised when he shows up at our camp." Sora and Kairi nodded before looking around nervously.

"Right…" Sora began. "Where is that again?" Tinkerbell smiled at the two of them.

"Come on," she said, leading the way. Sora placed his hand to his ear.

"Can you hear me Max?" he asked. A little static filled his ears before Max's voice came on.

"Loud and clear Sora." Sora smiled, knowing that they still worked.

"Do these things have tracking devices in them?" Sora asked. The static buzzed in his ears before Max answered, a little puzzled.

"Yeah, they do," Max said. "But they can only track you in the world beneath the Gummi ship. Why do you ask?"

"Because as soon as we stop moving on the tracking device," Sora ordered, "I want you to beam down here with us. We have some training to do."

-A-D-

_I hope you guys enjoy my take on Hook, which actually is to be pretty accurate to the movie in certain scenes._

_Please review!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You!**_

_Shire Folk_


	12. The Training of Peter Pan

_Thank you all for the reviews! Here's the next chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Peter Pan, Monty Python, or the movie Hook. Disney, Square Enix, a children's hospital in London, Monty Python, and Sir Steven Spielberg own all those. _

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter XII: The Training of Peter Pan

Sora, Kairi, Tinkerbell, and Max were waiting in silence in the Lost Boy's camp on a wooden platform for Peter Pan to arrive. The silence was broken abruptly when a man with brown hair wearing a white shirt, red suspenders, black bowtie, and a dinner jacket broke through the center of the platform wrapped in vines.

"Get me down!" he yelled. "I believe!" Sora, Kairi and Tink were laughing at him while Max rubbed his head, puzzled. Tinkerbell leapt up into the sky, drawing her dagger.

"Lost boys! Lost boys wake up!" she yelled, cutting the vine. Peter fell back down through the hole he had made and Tink went around to each of the lost boys waking them and yelling, "Pan's back!" She even cut one lost boy's pillow. A little one exited his house and joined in the yelling, and soon everyone was leaving his dwelling to see Peter Pan. Max turned to Sora and Kairi, still confused.

"That guy's Peter Pan?" he asked. Sora nodded his head, filling Max in.

"And we have three days to make him remember himself," Kairi said when Sora finished explaining how he could be Peter Pan. Max nodded his head and turned to see the lost boys cutting Peter out of the vines that he was freshly tangled in. All of them became surprised when Peter rose in front of them, and then stood higher up on a few rocks.

"That ain't Peter Pan," a boy with sleek black hair and wearing a tartan blue tweed shirt said.

"He's old," a coloured boy with a grey cap said.

"He's fat," a boy with curly black hair commented.

"Not so fat to me," an obese kid mentioned.

"He's an old, fat, grandpa man," the boy with curly black hair said. Then they all whipped their heads around as they heard a horn blowing. A teenage boy with a red and black mullet was on a parasail on wheels and was careening his way down a roller coaster track.

"Rufio! Rufio!" the lost boys chanted. "Ru-fi-ooooo." Rufio leapt off the coaster and onto a suspended swing. He began swinging above the crowd as Peter commented to himself as to how dangerous that was. Rufio let go of the swing and landed right in front of Peter, smiling.

"That is enough!" Peter roared. Rufio smirked and drew a bronze sword with a coconut hilt. "Okay, mister," Peter said nervously, backing away in Rufio's wake. "The show's over now. You put that thing away, put it down before you poke somebody's eye out." Rufio glanced at the lost boys around him, all of them jeering him on. "You're not old enough to shave," Peter continued. "What are you doing with a sword? Flying around- this is an insurance nightmare. What is this some sort of Lord of the Flies preschool? Where are your parents?" Peter desperately asked the lost boys. "Who's in charge here?" The laughing and jeering stopped as all fingers pointed to Rufio, who bowed slightly. "No," Peter said, shaking his head. "No, Mr. Skunkhead with too much mousse. You are just a punk kid. I want to speak to a grown up!" he yelled, turning his back on Rufio and the lost boys.

"All grown-ups are pirates!" Rufio retorted. Peter turned around.

"Excuse me?" he said. Rufio extended his arms.

"We kill pirates," he explained.

"I'm not a pirate" Peter explained, annoyed, "As it so happens, I am a lawyer." Sora, Max and Kairi chuckled.

"Same dif," Sora muttered. Rufio raised his sword.

"Kill the lawyer!" he roared, the lost boys joining in screaming his order, drawing their own swords.

"I'm not that kind of lawyer," Peter mumbled before running off. Sora instantly became anxious and drew his Keyblade.

"Crap," he muttered, flying off after Peter in a fruitless attempt to get ahead of the lost boys. It was nigh impossible for either himself or Kairi to get ahead through flying, as Peter constantly ran under buildings or got himself driven away in different directions, and it was also impossible for Max to get ahead because he was stuck at the back of the pack.

Eventually, all three were able to reach him just as Rufio did. Rufio raised his sword and advanced upon the panting, defenceless Banning.

"Peter!" the trio yelled, Sora dashing forward. As Rufio's blow was about to slice Peter's face in two it met resistance with a resounding clang. Sora had blocked it effortlessly with the Oblivion.

"Touch a hair on Peter Pan's head," Sora growled, his voice full of malice, "and you're in for a beating you'll never forget." Rufio smirked at Sora before glancing around. His smirk slipped off of his face when he saw four Keyblades and a sword pointed straight at his neck. Kairi and Naminé were standing to his left, Oathkeeper and Island's Fire extended, while Roxas and Max were to his right, Oathkeeper, Oblivion, and Max's sword, the Defender, practically at his neck. The remainder of the lost boys were restrained from sticking the company with their blades by Tink, who was explaining to them about why Peter Pan was back and how he was different from before. Rufio stared at Sora.

"You call this a fair fight?" he asked.

"You call killing defenceless fathers fun?" Sora retaliated. Rufio laughed at him, but did not dare say yes, given the number of weapons that were currently inches from running him through.

"Would you like to call off your friends here?" he asked, a bead of sweat appearing on his brow. Sora grimly nodded at his companions, and they lowered their weapons, Roxas and Naminé vanishing. Rufio looked around, bewildered. "Hey! Where did they go?" Sora and Kairi smirked as they tapped their heads with their fingers. Rufio shrugged it off and drew a line in the dirt with the tip of his sword.

"You can't fly, fight, or crow," he announced to the lost boys, meaning Peter. "So, if any of you say that this here scug, ain't Peter Pan, cross the line." Peter got up from his knees, and quickly crossed the line to join Rufio. Sora sighed and raised his Keyblade.

"Magnet," he muttered tiredly. Peter suddenly zipped back across the line to his side.

"You are embarrassing us," Kairi scowled at him. In moments every lost boy had went across the line as Sora, Kairi, Max, and Tink retreated to a safe distance behind the line, every boy except one little one. The boy approached Peter and began manipulating his face until he had a smile.

"Oh there you are Peter," he said. Immediately several boys crossed the line and examined him, reaching the same result. The company smiled at them.

"But Peter," one with curly ginger hair remembered, "you've grown up. You promised never to grow old."

"His nose got real big," the sleek haired one said.

"Well," the one with curly black hair said. "Welcome back to Neverland, Pan the man."

"Don't listen to that stinking fairy, that brainless fungus, that weird dog, idiotic munchkin, or that- that," Rufio appeared to be struggling for the right insult for Kairi, "doll!" he said triumphantly. Sora and Kairi's eyes hardened exponentially towards Rufio as he finished his rant. "I've got Pan's sword, I'm the Pan now! You think he's going to take it from me, Rufio?" Kairi's eyes flashed and flared, pyrotechnics working deep within them as she stared daggers at Rufio.

"Did you just call my girlfriend 'doll'?" Sora snarled, raising the Oblivion. No one had called Kairi 'doll' since Bob, and neither of them was fond of that incident. He was about to charge Rufio in anger when Kairi stayed him with her hand.

"No Sora," she objected, "he's mine. This time, I teach the punk a lesson." Rufio grinned widely as the lost boys parted, forgetting about Peter Pan for the moment. Sora inclined his head at Max.

"500 munny says Kairi stomps him in under twenty seconds," he muttered. Max readied his arm, watch poised.

"I have 500 munny on Kairi to win in under twenty seconds," he announced like an auctioneer. "Do I have any other takers?" Instantly the lost boys were in an uproar as they leapt at Max, all placing bets for Rufio to win at various times. Kairi turned her head to Sora.

"Am I a sideshow attraction now?" she asked. Sora shook his head.

"No, your fight has become one," he explained. Kairi raised an eyebrow at him and Sora raised his arms in defence. "Hey, my bet was supposed to be just against Max, it's his fault for it becoming this."

"Okay," Max announced greedily. "We have 500 munny to say Kairi wins in under twenty seconds, and a total of 1 232 munny saying Rufio wins. If Kairi wins in over twenty seconds or Rufio wins in over one minute dealer takes all." Tinkerbell gaped at Max.

"This whole scheme is just for you to make money?" she asked. Max shrugged.

"Hey, a guy needs cash right?" Sora, Kairi, and Tink shook their heads while Rufio cracked his knuckles.

"So, the doll wants to fight the great Rufio," Rufio taunted cockily, raising his sword at her. Kairi turned back around to face him, eyes blazing. "Too bad the doll will pay for her pride with her life, and your friend's munny." Kairi raised the Oathkeeper and let loose a cry of anger as she charged Rufio. He raised his gleaming bronze blade to block her downward slash, but he could not attack Kairi afterwards as she instantly returned with a lunge to his side. Rufio quickly realized that his taunting had awakened a sleeping giantess, and she was not happy.

"Don't! Ever!" Kairi huffed, each word ending with a clang of Keyblade on sword from her powerful blows. "Call! Me! Doll!" With her final word she swung the Oathkeeper right at Rufio's vertical sword in a horizontal slash, knocking it out of his hands and embedding it a foot into a wall ten feet away. Kairi pointed her Keyblade at Rufio's chin as he looked from her to his hand to his sword, completely in shock. Max stopped his watch, fourteen seconds. With a sigh he collected the lost boys' munny and placed it in one of Sora's moneybags. Kairi grinned and ran a hand through her hair. "Don't mess with a Princess," she scolded before turning round and walking back to Sora, hips swaying. Sora was standing with his arms crossed, smiling at Kairi, but as she approached he unfolded his arms and clapped. Kairi reached him and grasped his hands in hers.

"I hope you're happy," she said, "I just got you over a twelve-hundred munny."

"Oh I'm more than happy," Sora told her, "because you just kicked the punk's butt." He gave her a quick kiss. "Good job Kai."

"You see that boys," Rufio said, motioning with his arm towards the two lovebirds, "that is why we don't let girls in here. Give them to the Indians, cause we don't need people falling in love." Sora looked strangely at him.

"That is the biggest mistake of your lives then," he said, glancing at Kairi. "Love," he explained, "is the most beautiful feeling and most precious thing in all the worlds. You can't say you've had a full life when your time is done if you have never loved another more than yourself, for the only thing in life that matters is love, and it's worth fighting for." The few lost boys who were on Peter's side seemed moved by his words, yet Rufio and many of those on his side were unmoved.

"Peter loves his children with all his heart," Kairi pleaded, remembering he was there. "We need to get him ready to face Hook to win them back."

"You gonna follow that drooler," Rufio spat, "against Capítan Hook?"

"What's he doing her if he's not Peter Pan huh?" the little boy who first stayed with Peter retaliated. "He don't look happy here, and who are them kids Hook's got? Give him a chance!"

"Those are my kids," Peter said quickly, standing up. "And Hook's going to kill them if we don't do something." Peter looked pleadingly at the lost boys. "Help me. Please?"

"Yeah come on, give him a chance!" Tink yelled. Rufio slowly nodded, glancing at Kairi.

"All right," he said warily. "We'll give you one chance. But if you ain't Pan in three days, we won't fight." He turned to Sora. "One more thing, your girl can't stay." Sora's eyes blazed as the Oblivion appeared in his right hand.

"You want another round?" Sora asked maliciously. Rufio eyed Sora's Keyblade warily.

"No," he answered shakily, glancing warily at the eyes of the other teenager. Sora smirked.

"Then Kairi stays," he warned. "Or else, you wouldn't have just me on your case." Rufio shifted uncomfortably at Sora's words.

"Fine," he said quickly, but he quickly pointed his finger at the two, "but no mushy stuff." Kairi nodded.

"Agreed," she replied icily. Rufio nodded and then flashed around to address his men.

"Lost boys!" he roared, "get that fat piece of slime in shape."

"Bangerang!" they yelled in reply before pulling Peter away. Those who were on Peter's side quickly went up to Sora and Kairi to introduce themselves.

"My name is Thud Butt," the overweight child said, extending his hand.

"I'm Pockets," the little boy said.

"Don't Ask," the sleek black haired kid wearing plaid tweed said.

"Ace," curly ginger hair added.

"Too Small," curly black hair said. Sora, Kairi, and Max smiled at them.

"I'm Sora," Sora said, introducing his party like the days of old. "This is Kairi, and that's Max." Kairi knelt down to the lost boys.

"It's nice to meet all of you," she said warmly. Too Small looked at her.

"Are you going to be our new mother Kairi?" he asked. Her eyes widened and she looked around a little.

"Your mother?" she choked out. "Why would I be your new mother?"

"Well," Don't Ask said, "Wendy was our last mother, and you're the first girl here since Wendy so…" Kairi sadly shook her head.

"No, I'm not going to be your new mother," she said. "We're really just here to get Peter's children back. Then we're leaving again." The boys' faces became downcast for a moment before they brightened up again.

"Oh well," Thud said. "My happy thought is my own mother anyway." He and the others walked away and Tink flew up to the trio.

"I think it would be best for Peter's memory if only the Lost Boys trained him," she said. "So what are you guys going to do?" Kairi answered before Sora or Max could say anything.

"Well," she said ticking each item off on her fingers, "Sora was instructed by Merlin to teach me in magic. Naminé needs to practice, and Max also needs to learn how to fly." She paused and turned to her companions. "Anything else?" Sora and Max shook their heads.

"Don't think so," said Sora. Tink nodded before winging off.

"Good luck then," she called. Roxas and Naminé appeared in a flash, Naminé was holding the Island's Fire, its paopu keychain dangling from the hilt, and Roxas holding a silver Keyblade with a golden guard that had a key that had a cut-out of Sora's crown in it.

"I'll train Naminé," he announced, swinging the Kingdom Key in front of him. Sora and Kairi grinned.

"Why are we not surprised?" Sora said.

"I don't know," Naminé replied playfully. Swiftly she grabbed Roxas' free hand and ran away with him in tow. Max ran after them.

"Hey wait up!" he called. "I can learn to fly later, I could use some practice right now too!" Roxas looked behind him to see Max chasing after them. He sighed and turned to Naminé who was still leading him on.

"Looks like we don't get any 'alone' time Nam," he muttered. She sighed as she came to a stop, her blonde hair swaying.

"Oh well," she pouted, "at least we're together." Max ran up, panting.

"Man," he gasped, "you guys are fast." Roxas chuckled at him.

"Thanks," he said before turning to Naminé. "Okay, let's get to training." She nodded her head and raised Island's Fire.

"Right!" she exclaimed. "There's a big battle coming up, and I don't want to be left out." Max drew his sword from its sheath.

"Let's do it then," he said, facing Roxas. Roxas turned his head to Naminé while Max sized him up.

"Naminé," he instructed, "watch us for a few minutes, then we'll practice." Naminé nodded her head, eyes set. Roxas turned to Max, who nodded his head. Roxas began with a roar and a vertical slice at Max, who blocked it with the Defender. Roxas lifted his Keyblade off of Max's sword and quickly tried a horizontal swipe from his left, Max leaping back. He charged Max and threw a diagonal slash down from the right. Max blocked it with his sword and aggressively thrust at Roxas' midriff, lunging forward. Roxas barely sidestepped it in time and, twirling around, hit Max's exposed back with his Keyblade. Max grunted in pain and defeat. He turned to face Roxas.

"Okay," he said raising his sword, "score is one nil for you. Time for round two." Roxas grinned and nodded his head, getting himself into his fighting stance with the Kingdom Key behind his back.

"Now I'm going to get fancy with you," Roxas said as he began twirling his Keyblade above his head. Max's eyes widened and he charged him down, throwing an uppercut. Roxas stopped twirling the Kingdom Key above his head with a smirk and threw it down at Max's raised blade. With a resounding clang the Kingdom Key glanced off the Defender and Max slipped past Roxas under his arm. He deftly sliced at Roxas' back as he ran past, his silver blade singing through the air before it made contact with the crimson tip of Island's Fire, inches from Roxas' back. Naminé huffed at Max and threw him backwards with her Keyblade. With a cry she executed a horizontal swipe at Max's midriff. Max converted his momentum into a roll to avoid the strike upon his ribs. Staying crouched, he raised the flat of his sword to block Naminé's falling Keyblade. Max strained slightly at the force Naminé was using to try and keep him hunkered down while he devised a strategy. While he held off Naminé's Keyblade, Max slowly moved his left arm behind her legs without Naminé noticing. Once in position, Max thrust his left arm forwards, crashing it into the back of Naminé's kneecaps. She let out a startled cry as she fell to the ground, barely missing Max. He quickly got to his feet and placed his sword's tip over her neck, before howling in pain and falling to his knees as Roxas attacked his back with the Kingdom Key, again. Cringing Max raised his head as Roxas was helping Naminé up.

"Okay," Max croaked, "two nil for you, except you had help this time." Roxas looked at him and grinned, shrugging his shoulders. Naminé smiled at the two of them.

"Would you like the help this time Max?" she asked sincerely. Roxas raised his eyebrows as he thought of something to 'even' the odds.

"If it's going to be two on one," he said deviously, "I get to use both my Keyblades." Max looked horrified at the idea.

"If you use both of them," he stated, "I won't be going to sleep tonight with only a few cuts and bruises, I'll be sleeping in pieces." Naminé placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a few giggles as she went to stand beside Max. Roxas sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine," he said. "I'll stick with the Kingdom Key, but you still won't win."

"Your overconfidence is your weakness," Max taunted.

"Your faith in your friends is yours," Roxas retaliated. The two sides raised their weapons, silently taunting each other for a moment, before flying straight at each other, Roxas blocking both attacks against him with the Kingdom Key and performing a back flip. Deftly, Roxas twitched his neck as he continually backed away under Max and Naminé's barrage, parrying and dodging attacks, never getting a chance to strike. Seeing an attack coming, he swiftly raised his Keyblade to parry Naminé's downward slash and stopped backing up for a moment. In retaliation for the attack on his person he stepped forwards and slashed at Naminé's midriff, and Max saw his opportunity. As Roxas slashed, Max stepped in from the right side and whacked Roxas across the ribs with the flat of his blade; he didn't want to kill Roxas after all. His foe grunted in pain at the strike and lowered his weapon, wincing and rubbing his ribs from the attack.

"Okay," Roxas said slowly. He released his hold on the Kingdom Key and became an apparition again. "Two to one for me, but now," he suddenly smiled wickedly as he became formidable again, wielding both the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion in his hands, "we play by my rules." Naminé gulped as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Max?" she squeaked, glancing at him. She saw he was stealing a glance at her too and she continued. "We are screwed aren't we?" Max gulped as beads of sweat appeared upon his brow.

"Yep," he choked, nodding his head.

-A-D-

Sora and Kairi were standing on a wooden platform that held several scorch marks, patches of ice, and dripping beams. A panting Kairi was holding the Oathkeeper in front of her, and the Oblivion was resting at Sora's side as he was ticking off his fingers.

"Okay," he said, "we've done more fire, blizzard, water, and thunder. So most of the black magic's done, would you like to learn a white magic spell now?" He turned to Kairi and she looked at him, puzzled.

"White magic?" she asked. Sora nodded.

"Black magic is the fighting, destructive kind," he explained. "White is the protective, healing kind, although, white magic does include the powerful 'Holy' spell, which Merlin used in the Radiant Garden." Kairi was astounded that such a powerful spell could be classed as white magic, yet she shook it off quickly.

"I guess cure," she replied after a pause. "That way I won't always have to rely on potions or others to heal me." Sora nodded slowly.

"A wise choice," he commented before his face grew grim. "I warn you though, the cure spell uses quite a lot of energy to use, and it's best to use a potion first if you have one." Kairi nodded her head, eyes set and determined.

"I understand," she said. An unexpected pause occurred between them as they shifted uncomfortably. "So," Kairi began, unsure of breaking the silence between them, "how exactly do I feel 'healing'?" Sora barked a laugh.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said hanging his head. "Too many possibilities in my mind. Laughter is the best medicine, so they say, so humour maybe?" Sora grabbed his Keyblade and stared at it for a few moments. Kairi looked strangely at him as he raised it and placed it against his arm.

"Sora?" she asked hurriedly. "What are you-?" Her cerulean eyes grew wide in shock as Sora cut himself with the Oblivion, grunting in pain. He dismissed his Keyblade and eyed Kairi.

"There," he said, somewhat shakily. "We have an injury, try to heal it by thinking of humour."

"Sora this isn't a very humourous situation!" Kairi gasped at him. Sora's eyes flashed a little.

"I had to," he said. "Now do it," he ordered in a deep voice, "think of something funny." Suddenly he started chuckling, "like those goofy yellow tennis shoes I used to wear." Kairi giggled as she remembered the huge yellow clown shoes he used to wear.

"Sora," she giggled, "those were clown shoes. Not tennis shoes." He shrugged his shoulders, smirking.

"Whatever," he laughed. Kairi attempted to suppress the giggle fit as she raised the Oathkeeper at Sora's cut forearm.

"Cure," she said.

Nothing happened.

"Guess it wasn't humour," Sora sighed. Kairi began to worry, Sora's cut was bleeding quite fiercely, and if she didn't heal it soon…

_No_, she thought, _I won't think about that_. Kairi's ears perked when Sora began to muter something.

"Love's healing embrace," he said, his voice barely audible. "Love's healing embrace…" Suddenly his eyes widened in realization. "Of course!" he cried aloud. Suddenly he began shaking his head in his hands, chuckling. "Why couldn't I figure out I loved you sooner Kairi?" he asked as he raised his head, eyes shining with tears of mirth. Kairi appeared flabbergasted.

"I, I don't know," Kairi stuttered. "Should I know?" Sora shook his hanged head slowly.

"Because I just realized that every time I cast cure I thought of you," he explained joyfully. "Don't you see? Love is what you need to feel to heal. Simply love." Kairi's eyes twinkled.

"Love to feel, love to heal?" she asked humourously. Sora raised his eyebrows.

"Now you're turning it into a riddle," he said weakly, due to his chuckling. "Now heal me." Kairi giggled and directed her Keyblade at his arm again.

"Cure," she repeated. Flowing, green tendrils crept out of her Keyblade and wrapped themselves around Sora's arm, closing the cut. Sora flexed his arm, pinching it where the cut had been before he noticed Kairi. She was swaggering on her feet, swaying from side to side, holding her head. Rushing to Kairi's side like a whirlwind, Sora caught her just as she fell. Kairi looked weakly into his eyes as he propped her head up while he lay her down. "You were right, the cure spell does take it out of you. How are you able to cast it without collapsing?" Sora smiled at her and took her hand.

"Lots, and lots of practice," he said. They sat in silence for a while as Kairi slowly regained her strength. As she stood up they heard a large group of people approaching. Quizzically, the duo peered and saw a few lost boys, Rufio, and Tinkerbell leading a shirtless Peter (who was covered in varying colours of paint) towards a large slingshot. Looking down, Sora saw a large vat of multi-coloured liquid surrounded by the rest of the boys, who were all holding up signs with various words, not entirely spelled correctly.

"Just think happy thoughts," they called. Kairi raised her eyebrows as she turned to Sora.

"They're teaching him how to fly," she said. Sora nodded, watching silently.

"Just one happy thought Peter," Tink explained. "Just one happy thought will make you fly."

"I got it!" Peter exclaimed happily, sitting in the slingshot as Rufio raised his sword to cut the cord. "Not being in this slingshot, would make me very-" Rufio cut the rope "-happy!" Peter rapidly arched off through the sky.

"He's going up, he's going up," one lost boy commented. Sora's eyes grew as he saw Peter start to fall.

"Let's catch him," he said, rising into the air and shooting after Peter.

"Right," Kairi said, following suit. Peter continued to fall towards the vat, still screaming the end of the word 'happy'.

"He's coming down!" Thud yelled. Sora and Kairi raced faster towards the falling Peter.

"Wait!" Too Small cried, pointing. "They're going to catch him." Sora and Kairi stopped a few feet above the multi-coloured vat of what could be pudding, and prepared to catch Peter. He fell straight into their outstretched arms, but his momentum was enough to keep him going or should we say, take both of them with him into the muck. The lost boys and Tinkerbell howled in laughter as the three resurfaced, the teenage duo flying out like bullets before landing back on the platform they had previously occupied.

"I so need a shower," Kairi moaned while attempting to get blue whatever-it-was off of her face. Miraculously her skirt and breastplate again showed no signs of the dip she had just taken, the heart and crown in the centre of the white breastplate gleaming in the sunlight.

"Make that 'we' so need showers," Sora said, wiping some green gunk out of his eyes and spiky hair, before he moaned. "And I'm going to need to gel my hair again today." Kairi giggled as she approached Sora.

"Why would you need to do that?" she asked. "Isn't it naturally spiky?" Sora chuckled quietly.

"No," he answered. "I gel it every morning, and how come your clothes aren't dirty and mine are covered in this gunk?" Kairi smirked at him.

"Because the fairies made mine differently, but even that doesn't stop the stuff from squeezing in underneath them, and don't change the subject." She suddenly grabbed his arm and pressed a button on her communicator, beaming them straight to the _Highwind_'s cabin. Kairi quickly gave Sora a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I would actually like to see what you look like without gel in your hair," she commented before slinking off into her own room, rainbow footprints upon the floor. She licked her lips after the door closed and she began undressing.

_That stuff tastes…_ she thought as she stepped into her bathroom, _good. _

-A-D-

Later that night Peter was walking on the ground in the camp, rubbing his aching shoulders when his nose smelled a delicious feast cooking beneath him.

"Oh yeah," he moaned in pleasure. Sora, Kairi, the Nobodies, and Max came up behind him from the shadows. Roxas was holding only the Oathkeeper while Naminé held the Island's Fire. Roxas had only a few cuts upon him, while Max and Naminé looked as if they had been run over by a Living Bone and hurriedly patched up. Sora's long brown hair was parted in front of his face, flowing over his cheeks instead of being spiked up as usual. Kairi was on his arm, giggling madly.

"Okay Sora," she gasped. "You can keep your hair spiky after tonight, you look better that way." Sora looked affronted at her.

"You don't like my new hairstyle?" he asked incredulously. Roxas placed his hands on his hips and glared at Sora, despite his grin.

"If your Nobody and girlfriend tell you to put your hair back to the way it was," he scoffed, "then do it! You're embarrassing us, or at least me." Everyone assembled laughed before the company began sniffing the air, dreamy looks appearing on their faces. "C'mon," Roxas said gleefully to Naminé, "as long as we keep our Keyblades out, we'll be able to eat real food!" Naminé's face brightened as she hurried off after Roxas. Below them, the lost boys were setting a long table with steaming pots and pans, delicious scents wafting up from them. Peter took a seat in the middle of the table next to Pockets, while the rest of the group sat at the end, Naminé and Roxas on one side, Max, Sora, and Kairi on the other. Peter gazed hungrily at a roast pan that past by his face and the group all hurriedly grabbed their forks and knives. Ginger-haired Ace looked skeptically at them.

"We don't use those," he told them. The party looked strangely at him.

"Why do you have them?" Peter asked. Ace shrugged his shoulders as Thud came up behind him.

"We have them so we don't have to use them," Ace explained, sitting on the bench. Thud sat down next to him and the bench rose, sending half a dozen lost boys careening into him.

"Don't crowd me!" he yelled. Kairi turned to Sora as the lost boys began yelling at Thud.

"They may not use them," she said. "But for propriety's sake I still will." Sora laughed.

"Come on, be rebellious for once!" he laughed. "We're still kids aren't we?" Thud, Ace, and Don't Ask looked at Kairi.

"You really are a princess," Thud said. Kairi shrugged her shoulders.

"Even though I am I haven't lived as a princess for the last eight years, and I can't remember how I lived before then," she explained. Rufio then appeared and sat down next to Thud. He glanced around and all the lost boys looked expectantly at him. Rufio bowed his head, everyone else following suit.

"Everybody say grace," he commanded.

"Bless this oh Lord…" Peter started, his companions not really following him, or the tradition.

"GRACE!" the lost boys roared, before diving straight at the containers. Kairi, Naminé, and Max were appalled, while Sora and Roxas simply chuckled.

"What the-!" they gasped quietly. Suddenly the group noticed something about the feast.

There. Was. No. Food.

"What the-!" Roxas steamed, disappointed and fuming. "If I knew this was the reception I'd get, I would have beamed back into Sora's head and started cooking my own supper!" He dismissed the Oathkeeper he was holding onto, becoming a spectre again, and crossed his arms, fuming. Naminé followed with a similar pose, eyes blazing, chin pouting. Tinkerbell looked at Peter from the lamp she was in.

"Eat," she said. Peter looked incredulously at her.

"What's the deal?" he asked. "Where's the real food?"

"If you can't imagine yourself being Peter Pan you won't be Peter Pan," Tink replied. "Now eat up." A light bulb suddenly clicked on in Max's head.

"That's it," he muttered. "We can't eat until Peter can. It would make sense." Sora, and Kairi nodded.

"It does make sense," she replied. Naminé remained fuming in her seat as her stomach growled.

"How long will that take then?" she asked savagely. Peter continued his argument with Tink.

"Eat what? There's nothing here," he retorted. "Gandhi ate more than this."

"Don't you remember?" Tink asked. "This used to be your favourite game."

"Forget the games," Peter said. "I want real food. I want steak, I want some eggs, I want a cup of coffee-," Rufio cut him off before Peter could finish his wish list.

"You can't!" he said. "Eat your heart out you crinkled, wrinkled fat-bag!" Peter gazed angrily at the teen in front of him.

"You're a very ill-mannered young-,"

"You're a slug-eating worm," Rufio spat, cutting Peter off. Sora raised his eyebrows.

"An insult contest," he whispered before grinning. "I've got a good one." Kairi looked at him questioningly before her attention was brought back to Rufio and Peter's spat.

"…Paunchy, sag-bottomed puke pot!" Rufio finished. He was greeted with a bangerang cheer from the lost boys.

"You are a very poor role-model for these kids. Do you know that?" Peter responded. The boys made sounds of a bomb whistling to the ground and making a splat instead of an explosion. "I bet you don't have a fourth grade reading level," Peter continued.

"Haemorrhoidal suck-navel," Rufio spat.

"Well maybe a fifth grade reading level," consolidated Peter. The lost boys repeated their bomb sound as Sora shook his head.

"Boil-dripping, beef-fart sniffing, bubble-butt," insulted Rufio, whose insult was once again met by a bangerang. "You are a fart factory," he continued, "slug-slimed sack of rat guts and cat vomit, cheesy scab-picked, pimple-squeezing finger bandage. A week-old maggot burger with everything on it, and flies on the side!" The lost boys howled in disgust, and the party scrunched up their faces, apart from Roxas. He was howling in laughter. It had finally seemed though, that Peter had had enough taunting and he viciously stood up, glaring at his adolescent adversary.

"Substitute chemistry teacher," he said. Sora, Kairi, and Max burst out a chuckle while the lost boys stood silent.

"Mung tongue," he retorted, lacking a little of the flare his previous insults had.

"Math tutor," Peter retaliated. His group chuckled a little more while the boys still watched silently, their heads flicking between Peter and Rufio like a tennis rally.

"Pinhead," Rufio said, his edge gone.

"Prison barber."

"Mother lover."

"Near-sighted gynaecologist," answered Peter. Sora and co. chuckled at Peter's insult, and the insinuation.

"In your face camel-cake," Rufio countered, not a clue as to what a gynaecologist was and hoping to regain his momentum.

"In your rear cow-derriere," replied Peter.

"Lying, crying, spying, frying ultra-pig!" Rufio answered.

"You lewd, crude, rude, bag-of-pre-chewed-food dude," Peter said quickly.

"Bangerang Peter!" Thud yelled, extending his fist. Rufio was now shaky as his opponent was winning.

"You," he tried again, weakly, desperately, and fruitlessly. "You man! Stupid, stupid man!" Naminé knelt her head towards Roxas, who was now grinning madly.

"Rufio's lost it," she giggled.

"Rufio, if I'm a maggot burger why don't you just eat me!?" Peter yelled. "You're two-toned, zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farmin', paramecium-brain, munching on your own mucus, suffering from Peter Pan envy!" The lost boys seemed to be more than a little lost as to some parts of Peter's insults.

"What's a paramecium-brain?" Don't Ask asked.

"I'll tell you what a paramecium is," Peter growled, pointing at Rufio, "that's a paramecium! It's a one-celled critter with no brain that can't fly! Don't mess with me man, I'm a lawyer!" Peter sat back down, triumphant. Sora turned to Kairi dismally.

"Peter's got my insult beat," he said. Kairi looked at him questioningly.

"What was it?" she laughed. Sora smiled and took on a fake French accent.

"I don't want to talk to you no more you, empty-headed animal food trough whopper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!" Roxas smirked and spoke up in an English accent.

"Is there someone else we can talk to?" he asked. Sora looked irritably at his Nobody.

"No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-uh!" he answered, ending with a pronounced sniff. His whole group howled with laughter at what he had just said, stopping suddenly when they saw food in front of them. Sora glanced at Peter, whose face was shocked as he stared at the spoon he was holding. It had a multi-coloured paste on it; the same paste that was now plastered on Rufio's face. Roxas eyed the table hungrily. There were multi-coloured cakes, cookies, and pastries, roast-beast, blocks of cheese with lost boys' faces on them, fruit and vegetable platters, and dozens of any other food imaginable. None of them saw Rufio slink away though.

"Sweet!" Roxas exclaimed, pulling the Kingdom Key out and sitting on it. "Food!" Instantaneously, Naminé had followed his example and began piling copious amounts of food on her plate. Quickly the party ignored those around them as they began to eat and drink.

"Okay," Kairi relented, biting into what appeared to be a turkey leg, "I won't use cutlery for this." Suddenly she spied the pudding. "Sora?" she asked, nudging him with her elbow. He turned to look at her, his brown hair swaying, a forkful of potatoes halfway to his mouth. Kairi continued, pointing at the pudding. "Isn't that the same stuff we fell into earlier?" Sora looked in the direction she was pointing, and nodded when he saw it.

"It's edible?" he asked.

"Apparently so," Kairi answered. "I thought it tasted good when I licked my lips earlier." Suddenly the whole table around them erupted into a spontaneous food fight, the rainbow mish-mash flying in all directions, caking even Tinkerbell.

Sora brought his arm up to his lips and began licking the stuff off, eyes widening suddenly as he realized how good it was. He felt a finger scrape across his cheek and he turned around to see Kairi with her finger in her mouth, eyes glinting mischievously. Sora ran a finger under her chin, and brought back to his mouth, grinning. But before they could do anything 'mushy', as Rufio would call it, they heard Naminé shriek in delight. Turning their heads they saw their Nobodies with their faces together, licking each other's cheeks. Sora and Kairi turned to each other again, shocked.

"They stole our idea!" Kairi said, playfully outraged. Just then Peter leapt up onto the table to throw some of the pudding, only to be pelted by the food the lost boys were throwing. Laughing, he could barely hear Rufio's barely audible taunt.

"Hey Pan the man," he said, holding a coconut, "catch this!" Rufio chucked the coconut at Peter like a professional pitcher.

"Peter watch out!" someone yelled, tossing him a sword. Surprisingly Peter caught it by the hilt. As the coconut careened towards him, Peter spun around, cleaving the coconut cleanly in half with a single slice of the sword. As one half twirled on the table Peter gazed at the sword he was holding, and in the silence, a cock crowed. Startled at his feat, Peter suddenly dropped his sword, eyes wide.

"Bangerang," Thud whispered.

-A-D-

The next afternoon Sora and Kairi were again practicing their magic, Sora's hair gratefully spiky once more, this time on the ground above where they had the feast the night before. Tinkerbell told them when they had arrived late in the morning that the lost boys had taken Peter into town in an attempt to get him to crow. Kairi was learning and increasing in power at an alarming rate, and was now able to cast level two black magic in all elemental areas.

"Kairi," Sora began after she executed a perfect reflect spell, "I've been thinking." Kairi lowered her Keyblade and turned, giving him a questioning glance.

"What about?" Sora shifted his head to look at her.

"You're a Princess of Heart," he began slowly, unsure of his words. "So your heart is full of light. It may be possible for you to tap into it and use that light, like Riku can use the power of darkness." Kairi's eyes widened in understanding.

"To unlock my true potential?" she asked uncertainly. Sora nodded slowly. Kairi closed her eyes and began searching her inner self. Sora looked at her, praying that it may be possible. He spied the Oathkeeper with interest. It was starting to glow with a brilliantly pure, white light. Wind was whipping through Kairi's hair as she struggled to grasp at the light within her. Her eyes flared open suddenly, light radiating from them for a moment.

"Light!" she cried. A ray of white light was expelled from the Oathkeeper's tip, brightening the immediate area. Sora nearly had to shield his eyes, it was so bright. He let out a laugh of jubilation as Kairi did.

"You did it Kairi!" he exclaimed as she grinned at him, pearly white teeth dazzling him. "I can't even do that," Sora said quietly to himself in awe. Kairi giggled as she formed a ball of light in her palm, letting it hover an inch off her skin.

"It's mine now," she said, arching it through the air from one hand to the other with her mind. "To use as I will." She telekinetically lifted it over her head, and slowly waved her right hand. The ball of light broke into five streams that circled around the two of them. Sora and Kairi were giggling as they became encircled by Kairi's light, letting it flash round and round until they leapt into the sky, forming a sphere again. Kairi grinned and snapped her fingers, and the light dissipated into a mist, that spread across the camp and rained down as tiny twinkling stars, finally disappearing as they reached the ground.

Max walked up, his eyes filled with wonder as the last of the stars dissipated into the ground. He was holding his sword lightly in his right hand and there was a bloodstained white cloth wrapped over his left forearm. Sora and Kairi turned as he approached.

"What was that?" Max asked, pointing at the ground where a star had fallen. Kairi grinned at him as she formed another sphere in her palm.

"My light," she answered, allowing Max to look into it for a moment before closing her hand on the light. Max shook his head to try and get the bright circle that was burning his vision to go away. Sora approached him and tugged a little on the cloth on Max's arm.

"Roxas training you two hard?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Max nodded quickly and Sora sighed. "I can't believe he doesn't know the meaning of the word 'mercy'."

"Oh he does," Max interjected. "It's just that he only shows Naminé mercy, and not me." The trio laughed a little and Sora healed Max of the wound his Nobody gave him.

_Oh come on,_ Sora heard in his head._I didn't go that hard on them._ Sora shook his head to himself.

_Roxas,_ he thought telepathically, _Max is a friend. Friends don't kill each other._ Roxas' reply came back slowly.

_Can't I go just… shy of killing them?_

_No!_ Sora said firmly.

_What about-_

_No!_ Sora repeated. Kairi looked at him with a funny look.

"Were you telling Roxas not to kill our friends just now?" she asked. Sora sighed and looked at her.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "But he keeps squirming and trying to find loopholes." The trio laughed weakly again before Sora turned back to Max. "So," he began, "flying lessons, right?" Max nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Well since we're in the neighbourhood," he began, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought I might give it a shot." Sora chuckled and sprinkled some of the pixie dust from his box onto Max. Max coughed as he inhaled a little bit of the golden dust. He then looked at the two humans in front of him, who were starting to hover.

"So, how exactly do you fly?" Sora and Kairi looked at each other, grinning. They both turned back to Max.

"Think a happy thought," Kairi said simply. Max closed his eyes and began thinking of what to think about. Many things made him happy: working with his hands on something mechanical, playing video games, hanging out with buddies. He opened his eyes again and looked at his feet.

They were still on the ground.

Max gave a nervous chuckle as he looked back up at the two floating teens. "Um, I don't think it's working," he said during his chuckle. The other two just smirked and their blue eyes glinted at him.

"Think of Roxanne," Sora said while glancing at Kairi, a warm smile on his face. Max didn't even need to close his eyes to imagine her. He had plastered her face on a blank wall in his mind so many times that her image was graven into him. Max sighed softly as he thought of her, only to gasp when he noticed his feet were no longer firm on terra firma. He looked back at Sora and Kairi, stunned. They began laughing at his facial expression before regaining their dignity.

"Now just will yourself to move Max," Kairi explained, paraphrasing the explanation Sora had given her several days ago. "And you will. Think about going up, and you will go up, or in any other direction you choose." Max nodded and began to ascend in a wide helix, eventually shrinking the diameter of the circle until he was rocketing straight upwards. Max let out a laugh of exhilaration as he descended to Sora and Kairi's level.

"Now I know why you guys like flying so much," he said breathlessly. Suddenly two Keyblades appeared in hands of their owners as they glanced at each other, smirking. Max looked uneasily at the Keyblade bearing teens in front him, his hand straying to the hilt of his sheathed sword. Before they could begin to teach Max 'Air Combat 101', they heard something plop on the ground beneath them.

It was Peter, and they briefly heard him mutter, "Got to fly," in a determined voice. Quickly the trio descended, as Peter climbed a pile of rocks. "One great big happy thought," Peter said, before looking down and dropping a couple of rocks. "Less is more," he decided uneasily. Peter threw himself over the edge yelling, "I can!" Sora winced when Peter landed face first on the dirt. The three of them walked up to Peter as he stood up. Peter looked up and nodded at them as they approached. "Oh, hey Sora, Kairi, Max."

"Trying to fly Peter?" Kairi asked sympathetically before a white leather ball hurtled out of the sky, heading straight for Peter's head.

"Watch out!" Sora yelled as Max ran forward and grabbed the ball, inches away from contact. Sora, Kairi, and Max looked at in inquisitively; they had never seen anything like it before, yet the white made it almost resemble Kairi's ball of light. Max looked back up from the strange ball and tossed it at Peter, who caught it in his hand.

"What is it?" Max asked. Peter raised his eyebrows at the three of them.

"You've never seen a baseball before?" he asked. The three teens in front of him shook their heads. Peter shrugged before explaining. "Baseball is a sport we play in America. It is played on a diamond shaped field of shale and a large swath of grass. The shale is called the infield, and the grass the outfield. There are three bases around the diamond and home plate at the base. A person stands with the ball on a mound in the center of the diamond and pitches it at another team's player at home plate who then tries to hit the ball with a bat. If he does, or if the pitcher throws four pitches that the batter has no chance of hitting, the batter has to run to first base. If they hit the ball, the team in the field has to try and catch it, or at least get the ball to first base before the runner. If the ball was caught outright, the runner is out, if not, the ball needs to get to the base first. If your team gets three outs, the teams switch positions. If the batter got a walk, he gets first base free. The runner then has to try and get around the rest of the diamond and back to home plate. If they succeed, their team gets a run, and if the batter hits the ball far enough to get back to home plate before the ball can reach them, it is called a home run. Because they ran from home plate, back to home plate. If they completely hit the ball out of the park, it is an automatic home run."

As he was talking, Peter had sat himself down on some rocks near a pool of water, with Sora, Kairi, and Max sitting down in front of him. "My son Jack hit this ball," he continued, "from a baseball diamond over in the pirate town. He could never hit a curveball, but he sure surprised me on this one, he got a home run." Peter tossed the ball up in his hand and caught it again, his shadow reflecting the toss. Without warning, Peter's shadow tossed the ball up in the air again. The four of them looked at the shadow, which jerked with his head in a direction and flew off.

"I think it wants us to follow it," Max said, getting up. Peter's shadow led them to a tree with vines over the bottom. It motioned for Peter to remove the vines to reveal a circular door with names carved into it.

"Toodles," Peter said, running his fingers over the names. "Wendy, John, Michael, Peter." He pushed the door and it opened, showing a slide to get down into the tree. The four of them slid down the chute to enter a dismal, dark room. The room was dusty and appeared to have been unused for a long time. Peter stood up and hit his head on the roof.

"Careful Peter," a voice said with a chuckle. "You're a lot taller than you used to be." The company peered in the direction of the voice to see Tinkerbell wearing a beautiful pearly silver dress. "Like my dress?" she asked, ruffling it a little. Sora could almost feel his cheeks growing red. If he said yes, Kairi might take offence and think he was flirting with another. If he said no, he would offend Tink.

_Ah,_ Roxas said to him, hearing his thoughts. _The decisions of the Keyblade Master. Ever so challenging._

_Shut up Roxas,_ Sora muted, _and aren't you supposed to be training with Naminé?_ Roxas chuckled at him.

_Who's to say we aren't Sora?_ Before Sora could respond to Roxas Peter saved him from responding to Tinkerbell's question.

"You look beautiful," Peter said in awe. Tink blushed and bashfully ruffled her dress. "What's the occasion?"

"You are," Tink answered. "It's a welcome home party."

"Home?" Kairi asked, looking around at the broken room. "This was Peter's home?"

"What happened to make this place look like," Max asked, "well, like this?"

"Hook," Tink replied. "He burned it when Peter didn't come back." While she spoke, Peter began looking around the room, stopping at a barrel where he picked up a thimble.

"Kiss," he said quietly. "Wendy. I remember. This is Wendy's house, Noodles and Nibbs built it for her." Peter stood up and pointed at a rocking chair behind Sora. "Wendy used to sit in that chair," he announced.

"Yes," Tink said in a shallow breath.

"But it wasn't there," Peter continued, gesturing with his hands, "it was here. And we all used to sit around here and listen while she'd darn socks and tell us stories. Tink," Peter said, standing up again and striding across the room. "You're apartment was right, here."

"Yes," Tink repeated. Sora was amazed at just how much Peter remembered now.

"Little Michael," Peter said, not stopping, "had his beddy basket right here. John…" Peter began looking around, muttering John's name. His hand suddenly touched an object under a cloth and he pulled out a teddy bear. "Taddy," Peter said quietly, kissing the bear's forehead. "My Taddy. Mother used to put him in the pram to keep me company." His face glowed in sudden remembrance. "I remember my mother."

Peter went on to tell them why and how he came to Neverland, eventually up to where he saw thirteen-year-old Moira asleep in her bed. He hadn't wanted to grow up, because when a person grows up eventually they grow old and die, and he was afraid of that. He didn't want to die.

"Now I know why it's so hard for you to find a happy thought Peter," Tink said sympathetically. "So many sad memories." Peter kissed Taddy's forehead again.

"Bye Taddy," he said, then his eyes grew wide. "Not Taddy," he said in realization, "Daddy. Daddy!" His eyes glazed over as he remembered something from his past. "I know now why I left Neverland, I know why I grew up. I wanted to be a father. My Jack," he said, his eyes regaining focus. "My happy thought." Peter began laughing as he noticed that he was floating several feet above the ground. He accidentally dropped Taddy. "I lost it," he declared. Peter began screaming as he hurtled towards the ground.

"Just hold that happy thought Peter!" Tink yelled. Peter's face screwed up in concentration and he stopped, his heels nearly on the dirt. Peter's face beamed in triumph and he flew upwards. Sora felt a grin spread wide on his cheeks.

"That's the Peter I know," he said before seeing the stunned looks on Max and Kairi's faces. Sora waved with his hand at the two. "C'mon!" he yelled. "Let's fly with the legend!" Kairi and Max suddenly sprang back and nodded at Sora, rising with him. The trio rose through the tree's canopy and marked Peter against the sky. Flying like the wind they soared straight at Peter, who was now somehow wearing his green tights, and flanked him. Peter turned to Sora as he flew on his back.

"Sora!" he called in sudden recognition. "I remember you now! How are Donald and Goofy doing?" Sora chuckled at Peter before answering.

"They're doing just fine," he said. "Right now they're on a mission with the King. Oh, just in case you forgot, this is Goofy's son Max," Sora motioned with his arm at the figure in the center rear. He then waved his arm at Kairi, who was on Peter's left. "And you may or may not remember Kairi." Peter nodded at Kairi and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry for not staying to help rescue you Kairi," Peter apologized. "But I was a little concentrated on saving Wendy." Kairi giggled at him as they flew through the Lost Boys camp, showing off.

"Don't worry about it," Kairi said. "I'm fine now." The foursome flew into the skateboard basketball place where the gang had kept Rufio from hurting Peter. A crowd of the lost boys had assembled there, following the flying figures. The crowd suddenly parted as Rufio appeared, carrying a bronze sword with a coconut guard. The teen stood facing Peter for a moment, before dropping to his knees holding the sword of Pan in front of him.

"You are the Pan," Rufio acknowledged weakly. Peter stepped forward and took his sword from Rufio. He drew a line in the dirt and every lost boy crossed to Peter's side, leaving Rufio alone as he got to his feet. "You can fly," the boy began in admiration, "you can fight, and you can-" Peter suddenly crowed like a rooster, "-crow." The lost boys, Rufio, and Peter began celebrating as Roxas and Naminé walked in to see what all the commotion was about. Seeing the scene, Roxas grinned and called out to the crowd.

"Prepare for battle boys," Roxas announced waving the Kingdom Key in front of him, "tomorrow we march on Hook!" Peter, Rufio, and the lost boys all shouted out in one loud, booming voice.

"No more Hook!" Sora and party nodded their heads.

"We'll be ready," Sora declared as Roxas and Naminé became mists. As one, he, Kairi, and Max beamed back up to the ship. Before they could go separate ways Sora grabbed Kairi by the arm and spun her around as Max walked to the simulator.

"Sora, what?" she asked playfully, not expecting it or what Sora was about to say.

"You mentioned earlier that you'd like to be a mom someday Kairi," Sora began. Kairi froze, and nodded her head nervously.

"Yes," she said shakily. Sora smiled comfortingly at her, knowing what she was probably thinking, yet he wasn't thinking of the same thing. He didn't want to do that anytime soon.

"I'd like to be a dad eventually too," he said quietly before chuckling at Kairi's still nervous face. "And by eventually," he added, "I mean in a time far longer than nine months." Kairi finally smiled warmly at Sora, seeing him plain. She brought her mouth towards Sora's and the kissed briefly.

"You were scaring me for a moment Sora," she said. "But then," she added playfully, "I suppose a lazy bum would be too lazy to do it right now." Sora chuckled at the nickname she had given him.

"Don't worry," he said quietly, kissing her again. "I don't want to unless you're ready."

Kairi smiled. "Thanks Sora. Let's get ready to kick some pirate butt."

-A-D-

_Okay, I'm sorry for the wait, but as I said last chapter, updates would be farer between so I can build up a stock of chapters. However, I haven't written chapter XIII yet because of school, camp, cadets, and starting a Guild Wars account. PLUS, I have a little favour I need to ask of all of you, even though it requires a bit of a spoiler._

_When I take the trio to Atlantica, I am going to have them participate in a concert. Sora, Kairi, and Max will each sing one song. I already have songs picked for Kairi and Max, yet I am stuck between three for Sora. The ones I have picked are ACDC's TNT, Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine, or Rockapella Nylons' The Shoop Shoop Song. You may vote for any of the three or submit to me a different song. This way you can have your own say in the story, even if it is just a song._

_Please review and cast your votes!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	13. Rescuing the Children

_Thank you reviewers and readers. This chapter is going to be shorter than the others, but remember I still need votes and songs. Due to a stroke of brilliance from __**Broken Angel 01**__ and watching Family Guy, I'm going to add Roxas and Naminé to the concert in Atlantica. Don't panic, I already have a song chosen for them to sing. Yes, them. It's going to be a duet, and the song is from a musical that some of you have hopefully seen. And I give thanks to __**chm01**__ whose story element I put in._

_On a side note about summer for all who care, I am not leaving for seven weeks as a staff cadet; I am leaving for three weeks as a course cadet for Space Camp in St. Jean Québec! So you can expect a July and mid-late August full of updates._

_Disclaimer: I only wish I owned Kingdom Hearts, and I don't own Peter Pan. _

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter XIII: Rescuing the Children

Sora awoke early the next morning. Long before the sun had risen in the world below them. Although he hated to admit it as he rose from his brilliantly flame-patterned sheets, he was nervous. He had realized a long time ago that he always became nervous when he knew a large battle was nearing, he still wasn't completely comfortable with putting his life on the line despite the large amount of time he had spent fighting and training. Today however, he was far more anxious than usual. Maybe the fact that he now had finally told Kairi how he felt and he was anticipating a bright future with her at his side was making him even more uncomfortable with risking his neck, despite the noble reasons for doing so. Sora donned a t-shirt and blue housecoat and left his room as quietly as his 'whooshing' door would allow and began wandering the ship. He needed something to do with his hands, something to calm him down, to soothe his nerves. He passed by the kitchens and remembered that he had put a frozen chicken in the refrigerator to thaw on the first day when he and Kairi had come up to the ship for showers. Turning to face the kitchen, one thought went through his mind.

_Why don't I prepare our victory supper now? We're gonna be too busy later anyway._

-A-D-

Kairi stirred in her slumber underneath the rose coloured blankets the fairies had made for her bed. She thought she could smell something in her dream. Her eyes snapped open as she woke up, and she yawned while she stretched, closing her eyes again. She sniffed once and her blue eyes snapped open again.

She wasn't imagining the smell. Grabbing a pink housecoat of her own, she placed it over the white tank top she was wearing and left her room, following the smell. The fragrances of the flowers in the hallway couldn't mask the aroma coming from the kitchen. Peering in through the doorway Kairi beheld a sight she never thought she would see this early in the morning.

Sora was inside the kitchen wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of black flannel boxers, both of which were covered in the front by his white apron. A blue housecoat lay abandoned on the table. He was busying himself with a bowl of something on the counter, and didn't appear to have noticed her yet. Taking a stride, Kairi stepped into the kitchen, her bare foot making a soft slapping sound on the maple floor. Sora turned and saw her walking towards him slowly, his face showing a look of surprise.

"Morning Kai," he said, turning his back on the bowl and facing Kairi. She smiled at him but looked inquisitively behind him.

"What are you doing so early in the morning Sora?" she asked, trying to sneak a peek at the bowl he was hiding. Sora sighed and made way for her to take a look. Inside of the bowl were small pieces of bread, some onion, and seasonings. Kairi looked up at him. "Stuffing?" Sora nodded slowly and Kairi began giggling at him. "Why are you making stuffing at six in the morning Sora?" Sora looked around anxiously.

"Promise you won't laugh," he pleaded hurriedly. Kairi kept giggling at him.

"Okay," she said, "I promise." Sora sighed and began stirring a little milk into the bowl.

"It's just something I do," he said after a pause. "Whenever I know there's a battle coming, and I have the time, I end up getting nervous and I just need something to do with my hands. And since Mom taught me how to cook and everything, and I was the best cook we had back when it was me, Donald, and Goofy, I just ended up finding myself coo—" Kairi suddenly placed a finger to his lips to silence him.

"So it's a habit?" she asked with a smile. "Alright, I can deal with that. But…" Kairi looked back into the bowl, "Sora," she asked, "where's the rhubarb?" Sora's head rose suddenly and he turned around to look at her and the bowl.

"Rhubarb?" he questioned, frowning at the bowl. Kairi nodded at him.

"Yeah rhubarb," she repeated, going to the aprons by the spice rack and grabbing one. "What's a stuffing without rhubarb?" she asked rhetorically.

"A good one," Sora chuckled sarcastically. Kairi grimaced at him.

"If it weren't for your sarcasm," she advised, "you could make a good chef." Her remark was only in passing, but it stuck in Sora's mindset.

_A Keyblade Master_, he thought, _becoming a chef?_ Kairi looked at him and seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Why not?" they both said. Suddenly the same idea was forming in each of their minds.

"A restaurant," Sora proposed, taking Kairi's hand in his.

"You'd be Head Chef," Kairi continued.

"You'd be a waitress," Sora said.

"What?" Kairi asked. "Why a waitress? Oh no! If I'm your business partner in this, I'm GM, no questions asked!"

"But Kairi!"

"No 'buts' Sora! I'm not going to be small-fry in this."

"What about a hostess?"

"That's the same friggin' thing!"

"Does it matter?" Sora asked. "It's just a crazy idea for the future! Since we're just imagining it, you could even be dressed up in a cute maid's outfit or something." He closed his eyes and imagined Kairi and Naminé in those same outfits with smiles on their faces and trays of drinks in their hands. "That'd be nice."

"Pff, whatever," Kairi snorted, shoving Sora aside and absconding his stuffing. While Kairi worked on said stuffing, Sora fetched the bird from the fridge and placed it on a cutting board. Kairi looked at the chicken as Sora handled it.

"Is it thawed?" she asked. Sora smiled at her and nodded his head. Kairi grinned and grabbed a handful of the stuffing and began loosely packing it into the cavity when a voice spoke behind them.

"What is going on?" the voice said. The two teens whipped around to see Max standing in the doorway, a hand to his tired head. They smiled sheepishly at Max and turned back around to the chicken.

"We're making a victory roast for today," Sora said, piling more stuffing in. Max shook his head tiredly as he approached the two.

"So you guys are making a roast chicken," he recapped, "at a quarter after six in the morning, in your underwear." Kairi froze and looked herself over. Indeed, she was wearing only an undershirt and panties, the housecoat that had previously covered them lying abandoned next to Sora's, yet she hadn't seemed to notice because of the apron she had put on. Kairi could feel her face growing hot and couldn't decide whether to stay facing Max, leaving her crimson face wide open, or turn her back on him and the implications that now had. Her resolve suddenly appearing, she stayed facing Max, her ruby red face defying him while Sora faced the chicken, a blush rampant on his cheeks.

_How could I be so stupid?_ Kairi chastised herself. Max continued his teasing, encouraged rather than swayed by their coyness.

"Anything happen last night?" he asked with a smirk. Sora turned around to face him again while Kairi glared him down, the red still emblazoned across their faces.

"Nothing happened!" they both shouted at him. "We didn't do anything!" Max kept his smirk on his face and his last remark came as a drawl while he left the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure. _Nothing_." Kairi sighed exasperatedly and turned back to the bird, fuming. Sora was just as frustrated and accidentally stabbed the bird with the baster, before quickly checking to see if he did any damage. Kairi giggled slightly at him, praying that the red was gone from her cheeks and Sora turned his head back to her, and smiled. They both knew that nothing had happened the previous night, and nothing was going to happen today, and nothing was going to happen for a long while.

And that was all that mattered.

-A-D-

It was now in the late morning and Sora, Kairi, and Max had come down from the Highwind to participate in the final battle against Hook. Sora noticed with a pang earlier when he had changed back into his black adventuring outfit that it felt rather grungy and unclean and resolved that they should stop by the Radiant Garden for a couple of days for Merlin to teach him and Kairi some domestic use magic, like cleaning or cooking spells. As soon as they appeared, Roxas and Naminé arrived from their heads in a brilliant flash of light, wielding Keyblades. Naminé was wielding the Island's Fire as usual, yet Roxas was carrying two different Keyblades, both of them a foot longer than any other Keyblade. One was almost completely silver with a _fleur de lis_ near the tip and what appeared to be a lion's head as the point and keychain. The other had purple sides to its hilt and a red handle. Two black spikes protruded from where the hilt met the blade at an angle. The Keyblade's blade itself truly looked like a key, with small trapezoids of metal missing from its sides, although the tip was slightly round. Around the base of the blade were wrapped several bandages and the keychain was of a wolf's head. Sora looked inquiringly at his Nobody and folded his arms.

"Roxas," he asked, "why are you wielding the Sleeping Lion and Fenrir?" Roxas turned to him.

"Well, as you know," he explained. "I normally wield the Oathkeeper and Oblivion, however, Kairi and you also wield the Oathkeeper and Oblivion. This way, we don't get confused as to whose Keyblade is whose." Naminé smiled at him as Sora mulled it over.

"Nice explanation," she said. Suddenly Peter walked came up to them wearing green with Rufio by his side.

"You guys ready?" he asked. The five teenagers made expressions in the affirmative.

"Yep," Sora said. "And everyone is stocked up on Hi-potions." Rufio looked inquiringly at him.

"I thought you guys were good?" he asked.

"We are," Kairi explained. "The potions aren't for us; they're for the pirates we fight." Rufio became highly surprised.

"You're going to heal the pirates you fight?" he asked incredulously. Max nodded.

"We only kill Heartless and Nobodies," he said. "Not living people." Rufio shook his head.

"Do what you want, just don't be surprised if they attack you even after you've healed them." Peter looked annoyed at Rufio.

"They won't attack them again," he said, "they'll be grateful. Some of them are probably fathers and would rather not be fighting anyway. Which reminds me, I have a plan to save my kids." The company looked brightly at Peter.

"Great!" Roxas exclaimed. "What is it?" Peter just smiled at them.

"You'll see," was all he said.

-A-D-

The company and the lost boys had assembled in town and hidden in one of the town's buildings that bordered Hook's ship. The lost boys were arrayed in armour made of coconut husks, bamboo shoots, and wooden slots and most of them carried cutlasses while a few held machinations of some sort. Below them on the waterfront was a wooden vessel the boys had erected that would enable some of them to board Hook's ship. They were all waiting in silence for Peter's signal and Sora felt himself grow nervous again. Kairi threw a glance at him while she gripped the Oathkeeper to see his anxious face. She loosened her grip on her Keyblade and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Sora turned his head while he clasped a hand on hers. No words needed to be said between them, as Kairi's eyes radiated all the comfort that Sora needed. A comforting silence passed between them as the warriors all around waited with baited breath. Roxas was fingering the tip of the Sleeping Lion, Naminé was pacing, and Max was resting his back on the wall. Sora tore his eyes away from Kairi and glanced at Hook's ship.

_That's a fair bit of water,_ he thought as he surveyed the distance. He then glanced at Roxas and Naminé. _They don't have the ability to fly yet_, he realized. They both looked up at him and stalked towards him.

"Then give us the ability to fly," Roxas half ordered in a joking whisper. Sora chuckled and drew the box out of his pocket again before sprinkling the precious dust on the Nobodies. Roxas threw Sora an inquiring glance. _Just a happy thought?_ He asked telepathically.

_Yep_, Sora replied, _just one_. Roxas nodded and gazed at Naminé. His heart melting as he beheld her in her splendour as she gazed at his handsome figure. Suddenly both of their feet lifted a few inches off the ground. Before anything else could happen however, they heard Peter's signal.

"Bangerang!" they all heard him yell. At once every warrior assembled leapt into action. Leaving their hiding place, the company and lost boys came out onto the wooden balcony of the building they were hiding in. Observing Peter, trapped under a net with at least ten cutlasses pointed at his neck, Jack, decked out as a younger Hook, and Hook, standing on the bridge they let loose their war cry.

"Bangerang!" they answered. The pirates' attention was suddenly drawn away from Peter towards the army of youth that were now swinging on ropes towards them, still shouting their war cry. Sora leapt into the air and flew straight for Peter, his whole party by his side. With a mighty aerial slash Sora cut the net that bound Peter. With the net broken, Peter threw it off.

"Thanks Sora," he said. Sora nodded his head as Hook's voice filled the air.

"Call out the village militia!" he ordered, his hook hooked on Smee's collar. "We'll need every last man." Smee nodded as his captain released him and ran to the bell.

"If there's anybody not fighting," he yelled as he ran it, more lost boys swinging onto the ship, "get here quick!"

"Sora, watch out!" Kairi yelled as she battled a pirate. Instantly Sora turned around and met the falling blade of one of the pirates with the Oblivion. He looked into the stunned face of the pirate as he overpowered the older man's strength and brutally shoved his cutlass aside. As soon as the weapon was down, Sora delivered a slash to the pirate's ribs. The man howled in agony and clutched his chest, dropping his forgotten blade. Sora looked sympathetically at the man and pulled out one of the Hi-potions he had.

"Here, let me heal you," he said, kneeling down and spraying a small portion of the bottle's contents on the wound. The man was stupefied as he looked at the healing wound and then at Sora.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, stunned. Sora stood and looked at him.

"I don't kill other people," was all he said, before turning on another pirate that was about to stab him. Hook smiled admirably at his actions.

"Ah, very good form Sora," he called. "You and your friends are very intriguing. Fighting my men only to heal them after you beat them. Good show. Good form." Sora ignored him as he continually fought pirates to the other side of the ship, his friends by his side. Eventually he found himself fighting next to Kairi, and they began talking joyously as they fought and healed their adversaries.

"You still nervous Sora?" Kairi asked playfully as she twitched her neck to avoid one pirate's lunge. Sora smirked at her as he bloodied up another pirate before healing him.

"Nope," he answered, spraying the Hi-potion on the pirate's fresh wounds. "The thrill of battle takes the uneasy nerves away." Kairi nodded as she deftly avoided another attack. She pointed her Keyblade at the pirate's hand that held the sword that was attacking her.

"Blizzara!"A shard of ice flew out of the Oathkeeper's tip and froze the pirate's hand. He dropped his cutlass and Kairi used one of her Hi-potions to heal his hand.

"Form ranks!" Peter suddenly commanded. The lost boys and warriors of light formed up near Peter on the stern side of the ship while Hook had his men form ranks on the bow. "Let's get ready to show them the white light we're made of boys!" Peter yelled, pacing in front of his troops.

"Remember the fires from hell that forged you!" Hook roared. "Charge!" The pirates charged at the solid line composing of Peter's men and friends.

"Now!" Peter ordered, slashing his bronze blade downwards. The lost boys in the front rank revealed polished, shiny mirrors and directed them at the oncoming pirates' faces, blinding them.

"I'll help," Kairi said as she raised her left hand. A brilliant radiance began to emanate from her outstretched palm, greatly aiding the lost boys' blinding efforts.

"We'll show you who's chicken," Peter taunted. "Watch this!" At his command a lost boy came up from the rear, carrying a large shotgun type weapon that had a chicken sitting atop a basket of eggs. While the pirates were blinded, the lost boy fired eggs from his shotgun straight into their faces, the empty eggshells dropping to the deck. "Buk-buk-buk-buk," Peter said, while looking at the chicken. The shotgun fired again. "Buckah!" Out of ammo, the shotgun wielding boy retreated and the mirror carrying boys fell back as well. The pirates would have surged forward had they not been blinded by Kairi's light, still emanating from her palm as beads of sweat formed on her brow as she struggled to keep it up.

"You almost ready?" she asked another lost boy hurriedly, throwing a glance behind her. A boy with fair skin wielding some machination of war stepped forward and positioned himself in the breach in the wall.

"Ready," he declared, his fingers twitching on the triggers. Kairi nodded.

"Have at them," she ordered, before dropping her light and collapsing into Sora's arms, the Oblivion disappearing from his hands. The pirates surged forward and lost boy began his barrage. Hook looked on in stunned wonder as dozens of marbles came shooting out of the twin barrels on his weapon, tripping the pirates up. Sora anxiously held onto Kairi in his arms as Peter, Rufio, the lost boys, Max, Roxas, and Naminé began fighting the pirates again, although if they could have spared a glance, Sora and Kairi would have noticed that Naminé wasn't fighting as adeptly anymore. Kairi weakly held her head in one hand as the fighting continued all around them.

"You okay?" Sora asked anxiously. Kairi weakly nodded her head as she stood herself up again, stumbling a little.

"Yeah," she said. "I just used too much of my light there. I'll need to control the amount I use in the future." Sora nodded grimly while Kairi steeled herself to head into the fray again. Before she could, Sora grabbed her arm and spun her around, drawing her into a hug. Kairi smiled and eagerly hugged him back.

"I love you," Sora said, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Kairi went one step further and kissed him back on the lips.

"I know," she said when they broke apart, before giggling. "And I love you too, so be careful out there." Sora grinned as he heaved the Oblivion onto his shoulders.

"Aren't I always?" he asked rhetorically before using Quick Run to dive straight into the middle of a pack of foes. Kairi grinned as she watched Sora dispatch all of them before healing them again with a cure spell.

_That's the Sora I know, _she thought. She suddenly heard a sound behind her and raised her Keyblade to block a strike a pirate was making for her head. Kairi shoved the pirate's blade away with her own and sliced his chest, pulling out a Hi-potion in the process and healing it directly after.

"Sora! Kairi! Max!" they heard Peter yell. "Maggie's in trouble!" Kairi looked up to see Peter flying through the air above the ship towards a building's balcony. She rose from the ground to join Sora and Max as they flanked him. The four of them landed on the balcony and rushed in, seeing a little girl in a white nightgown being carried on the back of a large pirate.

"Daddy!" Maggie cried as she saw him.

"Hang on Maggie!" Peter yelled as a pirate ran up and crossed blades with him.

"Wait!" The pirate said. "Ain't you-?"

"Peter Pan," Peter answered. Rather than facing Peter, the pirate leapt out the balcony. The four ran after the pirate that was carrying Maggie, who put her down and drew his blade with a flourish. Peter leapt forward and began duelling the man while Sora, Kairi, and Max ran forward to see if Maggie was all right.

"Everything's going to be just fine Maggie," Kairi said sweetly as she knelt down. But Maggie wasn't listening. She was staring at her father with unknown fascination.

"Peter Pan's my," she said quietly, "dad?" Sora and Kairi laughed a little at her and Maggie suddenly realized they were there. "Kairi, Sora!" she exclaimed upon seeing them. "You're here too?" Kairi nodded.

"Everything's going to be just fine Maggie," Kairi repeated, lifting the Oathkeeper so Maggie could see it. The child stared at the blade.

"The Keyblade," Sora said, stepping forward to show Maggie his. "Wendy was telling a true story back in the nursery." Maggie's eyes widened as the weight of what he said hit her.

"Are you the really real Sora?" she asked looking up at him. Sora chuckled at her as he knelt down next to Kairi.

"Yes I'm the real Sora," he answered before glancing at Peter who was still fighting the pirate. "You're dad's changed a lot since he fought with Donald, Goofy, and me."

"So if you're the real Sora," Maggie began as she quickly swivelled her head to look at Kairi, "then you're the real Kairi!" The aforementioned teen giggled as she nodded her crimson covered head. Maggie's expression changed into a thoughtful one. "But you don't _look_ as old as my dad-"

"That's because we're from another world Maggie," Kairi explained. She then pointed at Max who was keeping watch. "And Max is from another world too, he's Goofy's son."

"Oh," Maggie said when she saw Max. Finding him a little too weird for the moment, she turned back to Sora and Kairi. "So what is your own world like?" The two laughed at her before beginning.

"Well," Kairi began. "The world we're from is called the 'Destiny Islands' and it is a perfect tropical paradise, apart from school. There are sandy white beaches and palm and coconut trees, and chocobos, and a special species of tree called a Paopu tree."

"The fruit from the Paopu tree is said to be magical," Sora explained smiling. "Legend has it that those who share one will have their destinies intertwined forever. The decision to share one is almost as big for some people as it is to get married, and it's a sign of the greatest love a person can have for another."

"That sounds like it's from a fairy tale," Maggie said excitedly. "Does that mean that you've shared one?"

Sora and Kairi blushed and looked at one another. "Um—uh, no we haven't," Sora said, almost apologetically.

"But we likely will," Kairi added shyly, pushing two fingers together, "eventually, at some point in time, down the road…"

Peter came up behind them. "Maggie!" he cried joyously, not noticing the confused and embarrassed expressions on the two teenagers who were now looking as far away from each other as possible.

"Daddy!" Maggie exalted as she was lifted up into his arms.

"I'm not going to lose you again," Peter said softly to his daughter.

"Daddy, Hook still has Jack," Maggie reminded. "We need to help him." Peter's face hardened.

"Well then let's get your brother back," Peter said, before turning his head to see Sora and Kairi, still red in the face. "I don't think you two are fit to fight anymore," he said surveying them. Sora looked up at him.

"What?" Sora asked, picking up the Oblivion, "we can still fight, right Kai?"

"Paopu…" the girl muttered. Sora's face turned bright red again and his Keyblade vanished from his hands.

_Sharing a paopu with Kairi,_ he thought. _Sure, it's something that I want to do, eventually, but really, why are we thinking about this now? Why did we have to start going off and telling Maggie all about Destiny Islands and paopu fruits? If I share one with her, it'd almost be like asking her to—_

"Max," Peter snapped suddenly. "Get them down to help the lost boys make the pirates surrender and stay with them. I'll go get Jack." Max nodded at him and stepped towards Sora and Kairi.

"Guys," he said, holding out his hands. They slowly looked up at him and grabbed Max's hands, getting a lift back up to their feet. Together the three lightly dropped down onto the street and helped gather up the surrendering pirates' weapons.

"Hey," Roxas asked as he and Naminé strode up to them, "what's up?" Kairi looked skeptically at them.

"As if you don't know?" she asked. Naminé shrugged.

"We don't read your thoughts all the time," she said. "We can miss things you know." Sora and Kairi looked almost relieved that they still had some measure of privacy of their own thoughts, yet that feeling was quickly squashed as they remembered what had made them so flustered in the first place.

"We were thinking about home," Sora said, "and fruit…" He left his sentence there. No more needed to be said between the four of them. Suddenly Peter landed next to them all, carrying Jack on his shoulders. Thud, Ace and a few other lost boys ran up to Peter, calling for a victory feast. Captain Hook ran was yelling at them from the upper deck.

"Come back here Peter and fight me!" he ordered. Peter shouldered Maggie and began to walk away.

"You need a mother very, very badly!" Maggie yelled. Hook ran down to the gangplank, stopping so that Smee could flip the stairs to the red carpet again.

"If you don't fight me now Peter I swear wherever you go, wherever you are there will always be daggers bearing notes signed 'James Hook' following you!" Hook yelled. "They will be flung at the doors of your children's, children's, children!" Peter stopped and put Maggie down. He turned around to face the man that had vexed him for most of his life.

"What do you want old man?" Peter asked. Hook pointed his hook at Peter Pan.

"Just you." Peter drew his sword.

"You got me James Hook," Peter said flying up to Hook. "Pan the Avenger, is back." Hook smiled at him as Smee removed his red overcoat.

"And the Hook is waiting, Peter Pan." Hook drew his sword in a flash of smoke and their blades met with a musical clang.

"You know I remember you were a lot bigger," Peter said.

"To a ten year old I'm huge," Hook retorted, swinging his sword at Peter. Peter flipped backwards in the air and flew down into the town, Hoko following. Peter whipped around as Hook slashed at him. "Now you die Peter," Hoko taunted.

"To die would be a great adventure," Peter countered.

"Death is the only adventure you have left now," Hook spat before attacking again. The two mortal enemies began lunging, slashing, thrusting and parrying constantly as Peter fell back, flaunting his sword and taunting Hook. They had arrived at a blacksmith's shop when Hook thrust Peter down next to the grindstone, metallic sparks flying from his hook's tip.

"You know you're not really Peter Pan you know," Hook said. "This is all just a dream. When you wake up you'll just be Peter Banning. A cold, selfish man who drinks too much, is obsessed with success, and runs and hides from his wife and children!" Peter glanced at his friends and children.

"I believe in you," Maggie whispered.

"I believe in you," Ace repeated.

"I believe in you," Sora, Kairi, Max, and the Nobodies said.

"You're the Pan," Thud said and Jack nodded his head.

"You are Peter Pan," he said. Tink suddenly flew in in front of Jack.

"I believe in you," she said and Peter took strength from all of the support he was gaining. "Peter Pan." With a great shove Peter threw Captain James Hook off of him and onto the ground, Hook's sword going wide. Peter picked up the fallen blade and after a moment's hesitation, held the hilt out to Hook. The captain took his sword in his right hand, and he sliced the hook on his left on Peter's arm. Peter withdrew his arm to observe the gash as Jack strode forward.

"Bad form Hook!" he yelled and Sora grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from going too far.

"Now we end this," Peter growled, viciously stringing together several slashes that Hook blocked. Together they fenced; Hook constantly retreating until they reached the town square. Hook and Peter's blades clashed constantly. Captain Hook hurled his blade downwards at Peter's, both of them meeting with a musical note, yet neither withdrew. They both pressed against the other's sword, hoping to overpower the other. Peter winced as sweat began forming on his brow and Hook smiled savagely. Suddenly the lost boys ran up behind Peter, all holding ticking clocks.

"Ah!" Hook cried in distress as he retreated and ran away. More lost boys blocked his path with more clocks and Hook cried again, trapped.

"Hello," Peter taunted as Hook ran back to face him. "Tick-tock, tick-tock Hook's afraid of an old dead croc!" Their blades met again as Peter took the advantage over the frazzled captain. "I think not!" he continued as he advanced on Hook. "I think James Hook is afraid of time! Ticking, ticking away!" Peter pointed his sword out over Hook's head. "Tick, tock." With a flick of the wrist Peter tossed Hook's hat off of his head with his gleaming blade. The captain's chapeau landed perfectly on Too Small's head. The bald captain tried vainly to continue the fight, but he quickly lost his sword as Peter spiralled his blade around Hook's rapier.

"You win Peter," Hook croaked, Peter's sword inches from his throat. "I am fallen." He looked back at his hat. "Give me my dignity back first, you cut off my hand, I believe you owe me something." Sora grabbed Hook's hat off of Too Small's head and tossed it at Peter, who gave it to the fallen captain.

"You killed Rufio," Peter said while advancing menacingly, "you kidnapped my children, you deserve to die." Kairi and the gang gasped.

"Rufio's dead?" Kairi whispered through teary eyes. Sora placed his arms around her in what he hoped to be a comforting gesture, even though he was just as distraught.

"I've never lost a friend before," he whispered hoarsely. "I guess it was bound to happen sometime, but I never thought it would." Hook's voice suddenly hit them again and gave a reprieve from the grief.

"Excellent, good form Jack," Hook said, reacting to Jack's comment that Hook couldn't hurt them anymore. "After all, what would the world be like," he continued, placing his hat back on his head and smiling, "without Captain Hook?"

"I want you to take your ship," Peter ordered, "and go. And I never want to see your face in Neverland again." Peter sheathed his sword and turned his back on Hook, taking his children's hands in his. "Let's go home," he said. Captain Hook's expression changed to one of rage as he held out his hand, and another sword came springing out of his coat into his outstretched palm.

"Fools!" He cried, driving Peter into the crocodile's back and placing his blade against his neck. "James Hook is Neverland!" He breathed on Peter, and none could do anything to stop him, for fear of losing Peter.

_No!_ Sora thought. _Not two in one day!_

"Whenever children read it will say," Hook said, his voice dripping with malice as he rose his hook, "thus perished Peter Pan." He was about to swing it down when Tink flew in and grabbed the hook, holding it back. Peter flung the sword off of him and grabbed the hook, only to shove it into the deceased crocodile's belly. Everyone could hear a faint roar as smoke billowed out of the hole formed in the crocodile's belly from Hook's hook.

"What's happening?" the captain yelled in fear. "What is happening?" The clock dropped from the crocodile's mouth and Hook was somehow flung back onto the ground, tripping over the clock. The crocodile's head looked down and stared at Hook as it roared again.

"It's still alive!" Kairi said in awe as the boards that held it up clattered onto the ground. The beast began to fall, its jaws open wide.

"I want my mommy!" James Hook cried as the mouth fell down on him, a dust cloud springing up from the shockwave. Sora and the gang approached the gaping mouth as they heard a very loud belch.

"Hook's gone," Naminé said. The message became repeated to everyone present and all the lost boys and Peter began celebrating, running through the open mouth and around the head.

"Pan the man!" Peter yelled in jubilation until he caught sight of his children and friends, "Pan the man-". Too Small approached Peter and tugged on his shirt.

"What is it Peter?" he asked.

"I can't stay and play, it is time for me to go," he answered. He walked to his kids and looked up.

"Tink?" he asked, looking at the pixie. "Make my kids glow." She smiled as she sprinkled her magic dust on the two young kids. "Kids," Peter said. "Just think one happy thought, and you'll fly like me."

"Mommy!" Maggie said, smiling at her father.

"My dad," Jack said in admiration. "Peter Pan." They both let out shouts of amazement as they floated off the ground.

"Take them home Tink," Peter said. "You know the way. I'll be right behind you," he called. Peter turned to Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Naminé, and Max. "I guess this is it Sora."

"Yeah," Sora answered. "Once we leave, we'll probably never see each other again."

"That's okay Sora," Peter said. "Because as long as I live, and as long as there is a Neverland, we'll never forget you. And who's to say that there won't be another Peter Pan someday that you'll meet." He then chuckled and ruffled Sora's spiky hair, glancing at Kairi. "Don't do anything stupid spiky."

"Hey!" Sora said in offence. "Who do you think I am?" Peter laughed at him.

"A teenage boy with a pretty girlfriend." The two teens looked at each other, blushed, and promptly looked away as the whole group laughed.

"Well," Max said. "See you around Peter." Peter nodded and saluted them as they beamed back up to the _Highwind._

"Thank you for believing," Peter said.

-A-D-

_Right, that's the end of Neverland, and the start of a story shift. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but I will start including Riku, Yuffie, Maleficent, and PJ now._

_Please leave a review!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You!**_

_Shire Folk_


	14. Maleficent's Revenge

_And, reading this chapter again and looking through my timeline, I noticed that I had made this chapter VERY confusing from a timescale point of view the first time, crossing different timelines without giving any clear clarification as to what was actually happening when._

_SO…_

_I decided to draw upon something I've been doing in the more recent chapters of __**The War**__, in order to alleviate the confusion that I, at least, had been suffering from._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts._

-A-D-

**The Beginning v. I.I**

Chapter XIV: Maleficent's Revenge

_2100hrs, Thursday, August 28th, 2003  
The Castle That Never Was, The World That Never Was,  
PJ_

"You have disobeyed me Pete," Maleficent addressed a cowering Pete. Maleficent and her allies, including the unknown spy, were all situated in their meeting room in the castle that formerly belonged to Organization XIII. PJ and a cloaked man with spiked silver hair were sniggering while Cossex smiled wickedly. "I told you not to engage Sora should you encounter him!" the witch continued, not at all pleased. "Still, you aren't a total failure."

"Huh?" Pete asked, surprised by his master's sudden lack of aggression.

"By using that army of Heartless to confront the Keyblade _heroes_," Maleficent explained, saying the word like it was of noteworthy disdain, "you made them give a donation of thousands of hearts towards Kingdom Hearts. Such a charitable offer will increase the great darkness and number of Heartless that will flood from the keyhole in that moon after we have all the Princesses here. Which reminds me," Maleficent turned to PJ. "Why are you not guarding Alice, Aurora, and Cinderella?"

"You told me to come here for the meeting," PJ answered, a little flustered.

"Then who is guarding them?" the sorceress asked.

"I walked by after you had summoned PJ here," Cossex spoke up. "So I ordered four Berserkers to guard them." Maleficent nodded at the Nobody.

"Very good Cossex, we need them guarded at all times. Who knows when they might try anything funny?"

"So," the silver-haired man next to PJ began. "What are we going to do to get Sora and the last princess here?"

"It would be useless to get them now," Cossex said. "They both wield Keyblades, we need them to build up the army for when the keyhole is complete, correct?"

"Our army is already massive," Maleficent stated. "When Sora last closed that keyhole and Kingdom Hearts he prevented an army of Heartless larger than any force the worlds have ever seen from entering the realm of light. As soon as we open that keyhole," Maleficent closed her fist and began cackling, "I'll be able to extract that army and use it to conquer all!"

"So what are we going to do about the Keyblade brat then?" the man asked. Pete thumped his chest.

"Haven't ya been paying attention at the meetings? We're going to turn him into a Heartless and give him what for!" The man with silver hair pounded the table as he rose.

"But how man, how!?"

"Patience Nixion," Maleficent spoke as she raised a hand. "We will toy a little with the boy's emotions for sport first. He is a perfect plaything that we can manipulate to our will. He will come to us in the end. Yet, we still need the rest of the Princesses. You and Pete will go and kidnap the remaining ones, minus Kairi. Cossex will probably need your help to capture her and Sora." Nixion and Pete nodded and vanished through a portal of darkness. Maleficent then turned to Cossex, who raised her eyebrows. PJ shifted nervously.

"What sort of thing," he asked, "do you have in mind to do to Sora?" Maleficent laughed at him.

"My dear PJ," she answered. "We will simply destroy his home and kill his friends and family. Cossex, kill his poor mother personally. And throw in his beloved princess's parents as well for good measure."

"What?" Cossex asked, appearing shaken. "Why would—?" She saw the look of finality in the witch's face and bowed her head submissively. "Understood. What about Riku and King Mickey's followers?"

"Let them live," Maleficent ordered. "It will hurt Sora and Kairi's feelings even more if they found out that their best friends could only stand by idly while you killed their beloved family. Destroy everything by any means necessary; use as many resources as you will. Just make sure Sora will be thrown into a senseless rage." Cossex nodded at her master before opening another portal.

"As you wish," she stated, backing away. The portal closed after her and Maleficent dismissed PJ so he could resume his duties.

_Oh, this is bad_, PJ thought as he walked down the white corridors towards the Castle's dungeon. They hadn't changed much since the Organization left. The only real additions and renovations that had been made to the whole castle were thousands of black thorns that wrapped around the exterior and decorated the dungeons, and a small guardhouse built for PJ next to the large, and only, cell in the dungeons. _This is very bad, and there's nothing I can do to stop it!_ PJ stopped in front of the cell's bars and dismissed the Nobodies Cossex had summoned to guard the Princesses. He sat down and placed his head in his hands with a long sigh.

"Whatever is the matter PJ?" Alice asked as she, Aurora, and Cinderella came to rest near the cell entrance. The three in the cell had long since learned that PJ was a spy for King Mickey, and so they had all become friends quite quickly.

"Yes," Aurora asked, "what happened in the meeting?" PJ sighed and began to explain.

"Well, it started with Maleficent chastising my dad about fighting Sora when he shouldn't have," he started with a smirk, the three girls behind him giggling. "Then she explained that because of Pete's blunder Sora and Kairi had contributed towards the great darkness that would come from the keyhole," PJ's face slowly fell as he recalled the events, "and she asked why I wasn't guarding you. Then it went on to ordering Nixion and my father to capture the rest of the princesses of heart, except for Kairi. And now," he sighed, "she's just ordered Cossex to go to Destiny Islands and completely trash them while personally killing Sora's mother and Kairi's parents." The three princesses gasped and displayed looks of sheer terror.

"That's horrible!" Alice exclaimed.

"Shush," Cinderella said hurriedly, looking around. "Maleficent may be nearby." PJ snorted.

"No she won't," he said. "She'll be too busy devising schemes of what to do when Sora comes rushing in here to get revenge on her." PJ sighed again and slumped further down. "And there's nothing I can do about it!" he exclaimed, pounding the ground with his fist. A silence developed between the four of them as they thought up ways out of this predicament.

"Well," Aurora began after a time. "We could warn them that Cossex is going to attack." PJ looked up.

"You're right," he said in amazement. "Cossex didn't look too pleased at what Maleficent told her to do, so she might wait a few days. She doesn't seem the type who enjoys killing innocent people. We may have some time for them to ready themselves." PJ got up and turned to Aurora. Despite the fact that she was behind bars, he took her hand and kissed it.

"Thanks Aurora," he said before turning his back on them and heading towards the guardhouse made for him. Before he stepped in he called at them over his shoulder. "Can you three ladies guard yourselves for a moment while I warn our friends?" PJ chuckled as he saw their smiling faces and stepped into the guardhouse. It wasn't much, just a couple of square white rooms. PJ walked up to a bookcase and pulled out a yellow book titled 'The History of Cheese'. The bookcase flipped around to reveal a secret passageway that led down into PJ's communications room. Sitting down at a table with the electronic setup, PJ turned on the transmitter and set it to video, already inputting the desired receivers.

"This is PJ calling King Mickey aboard the _Avenger_ and Axel on the Destiny Islands. Message, over."

-A-D-

_2115hrs,  
Felra, Destiny Islands,  
Riku_

Riku was sitting quietly with Yuffie and Axel in the house the two teachers had gotten. It seemed normal from the outside, but the inside was a different story. It was normal in most aspects, but there was a pinball machine in their recreational room that went to a hidden basement that held all of their monitoring equipment. There was a transmitter that allowed messages to be sent between worlds, and a detector that allowed them to map out the locations of Heartless throughout the city. Yuffie had already told Riku that its range was limited and it couldn't scan further than ten kilometres outside of the city. And there was also a direct phone line to the mayor.

Riku was sitting back with his eyes closed; relaxing on the chair he was sitting on. It was the day after the party, and he, Yuffie, and Axel had left City Hall about an hour ago to come back here. He hadn't had a very tough day; slaying about twenty Heartless was nowhere near as bad as the Biology essay he had had to write. The topic had been "Describe and explain the functions of a working heart." Having been schooled by Ansem the Wise while he was working on bringing Sora's memories back together, Riku had learned a lot about the workings of the heart, yet his teachers at school did not seem to acknowledge the work of Ansem and Riku had to spend an hour defending and arguing his position in class to them. Now that was hard work!

But then again, this was a biology class, not a philosophy or theology one. So maybe the things he learned from Ansem weren't quite going to cut it…

Riku sighed as he remembered trumping Mr. Anderson's argument and Yuffie looked over at him.

"Tough day?" she asked pleasantly, coming over to sit next to him. Riku cracked open an eyelid and gazed at her.

"Not too tough for a Wielder of the Keyblade," he joked. Yuffie and Axel chuckled and Riku laughed with them. The sight of Yuffie's black hair swaying with her head as she laughed sent a warm feeling to Riku's heart and he smiled, to hide his confusion. _What is going on?_ He thought to himself. Before he could probe deeper into his mind a warning siren came on and they heard a voice blare through the speakers on the communications equipment.

"This is PJ calling King Mickey aboard the _Avenger_ and Axel on the Destiny Islands. Message, over." Immediately Axel sprang to life and put the transmitter on video. Riku grabbed his water bottle and took a swig, not phased by the sudden noise.

"This is Axel," Axel said, going through proper radio etiquette, "calling PJ. Go ahead, over." They saw on the screen PJ sitting in his room in the guardhouse. He looked kind of like Pete, except he was smaller than his dad and wore a red shirt over a pair of blue jeans. A moment later after the King had completed his greeting, the screen split into two and an image of King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy aboard the bridge of their ship also appeared.

"What's going on PJ?" King Mickey asked gravely. "And why did you include Axel in your transmission?"

"What?" Axel asked, offended. "Am I not good enough to be included in these powwows Your Majesty?" Riku inclined his head towards Yuffie.

"This kind of thing happen often?" he whispered. Yuffie grinned and nodded her head.

"Yep," she said brightly. "And it's always fun to watch." Riku nodded and offered her a swig of water.

"Well Your Majesty," PJ answered quickly, in order to avoid a certain pyro's demise. "This information concerns the Islands as well." Riku saw Mickey give Axel a questioning glance before sighing and shaking his head. He turned towards his informant.

"Get on with it PJ." The boy sighed sadly as he turned away from his King and looked at the Islands group. Riku raised his eyebrows and took another swig from his water bottle.

"Maleficent sent Cossex to destroy you guys," he said bluntly. Riku spat out the water he was drinking, spraying it all over Axel's back.

"Say what?" Riku exclaimed. Axel swivelled his chair around and glared at Riku.

"You did that on purpose," he taunted, fire engulfing him and drying his clothes off. Suddenly he registered what PJ had said and quickly swivelled back. "Say what?" he yelped, repeating Riku. Yuffie appeared quite distressed as she teetered on the edge of her seat.

"Why does she want to destroy us?" she asked.

"It's all to get at Sora and Kairi," PJ said sadly. "Maleficent doesn't want to destroy you three, just practically everything and everyone else. She even ordered Cossex to personally kill their parents. She believes that when they find out, they'll through caution to the winds and rush to the castle, seeking vengeance. Then she'll be able to capture them and turn Sora into a Heartless." Donald quaked in indignation.

"We can't let her do that!" he squawked.

"But how?" Goofy asked, scratching his head. "We're days away from the Islands. We'd never make it in time."

"Well actually," PJ started. "Cossex doesn't seem too happy about having to do it. So you probably have a few days."

"I doubt you'd be of much help your Majesty, even if you did make it in time," Yuffie said. "We saw what Cossex can do at the party we threw for Sora and Kairi. Even after they had left she continued to use her powers. It seems as if only the Princesses of Heart can withstand her mind breaking powers or whatever it is." PJ nodded and turned to 'look' at King Mickey.

"She's right Your Majesty," he said. "When Cossex came back that night, she was confused about how Kairi and Naminé were immune to her powers. Then Maleficent explained that the light in their hearts protects them. Anyone with darkness, no matter how small, would be affected."

"Then we'll just have to stop her before she can do such a dastardly deed!" Axel roared, slamming a fist into his hand. "We'll place a guard on Anne, Seymour, and Janet just in case."

"No!" King Mickey ordered. "They must not know that their lives are threatened. We must keep this between us and you three have to keep a constant watch. If any of the Heartless that she's gathering show up, gather all of those on the Islands who can fight and meet her. You have to stop her by a show of force before she can reach their parents." Riku folded his arms and looked at the mouse king.

"And should she break through and-" Riku began to choke on his words, "-kill Sora and Kairi's parents and destroy the Islands?" King Mickey looked grimly at them.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Riku looked down sadly and began thinking of what would happen if she won.

"Aw, cheer up Riku," Goofy said in a comforting tone.

"Yeah," Donald piped up. "Like we told Sora, nobody can beat you!" Riku gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"Sora and Roxas can," he said glumly. "And if Cossex can beat them then she can beat…" Yuffie smacked him on the head. "Ow!" Riku exclaimed as he rubbed his silver-clad head.

"Stop thinking like that!" Yuffie sternly ordered. "We'll get through this. We have to, otherwise Sora and Kairi will get so angry with us!"

"That's kind of part of the plan too," PJ said slowly, rubbing his head. "That's why Maleficent ordered that you three are not to be killed." Axel groaned and threw his arms up into the air.

"Could today get any better?" he asked vainly.

"Well…" PJ began again.

"Don't tell me there actually is more?" Axel asked in shock. PJ smiled half-heartedly at him.

"She's also sent Nixion and Pete out to capture the rest of the Princesses," PJ said, "except for Kairi. Cossex and Nixion are to get her and Sora after all the others are here." A small beeping began to sound from the King's dashboard and he looked down.

"We'll have to cut this off," he said. "We're approaching the next world. I'll leave it to you three to sort this out. Good luck." On that note, half of the screen that displayed the King and his companions flickered out. PJ logged off as well and a new look appeared on Riku's face.

"If we fail," he said slowly, glumly hanging his head, his water bottle forgotten. "Sora's going to be so pissed."

-A-D-

_1721hrs, Friday, August 29th, 2003,  
The Marketplace, Radiant Garden,  
Sora_

Sora landed the _Highwind _back in Radiant Garden. He had already reasoned with Kairi the previous night while they toasted to victory and Rufio's memory that a hero needed to be comfortable to save the worlds. Or at least, his clothes needed to be comfortable.

"So why are we here again?" Max asked as they strode down the landing ramp. Kairi shook her head in exasperation.

"We told you before Max," she said. "We're here so that Sora and I can learn a few spells and magic from Merlin. On Sora's last adventures Donald had always cleaned their clothes of all the blood and mud and gunk that got stuck on them. And Donald learned everything he knows from Merlin, so since we don't know where Donald is exactly we're going to see Merlin." Max sighed as Kairi and Sora walked further away through the Marketplace.

"You guys do that," he called, turning his back on them. "I'll just train in the simulator and hang out here." Sora turned his head and stared at Max while he walked away with Kairi.

_Chicken Wuss__,_ Roxas said. Sora shook his head as they strolled through the Marketplace.

_He just feels left out_, Sora communicated. _We need to think of something to do that we can all do together instead of just Kairi and me._ Roxas responded with some kind of remark, but Sora wasn't listening. An object in one of the stalls had just caught his eye. It was a silver pendant, and it was shaped just like his crown one. There were two main differences though. One, there was a pink tinge to it, and two, there was a small heart embossed in the center the right size for a small engraving. _I should get that as a sweet sixteen present for Kairi_, he thought. He quickly strode up to the stall while Kairi was off heading towards the Borough.

"How much is the crown pendant?" Sora asked hurriedly. The shopkeeper, whose tag said her name was Jessie, smiled at him.

"Got someone in mind for it?" she asked. Sora nodded hastily and glanced over his shoulder to check that Kairi wasn't approaching. "Well, the base itself is 600 munny, but an engraving costs extra."

"How much does the engraving cost?" Sora asked. Jessie shrugged.

"Depends on the length of the engraving."

"Well," Sora said quietly as he leaned in, "could you put 'Kairi' on the front in the heart, and on the back put down 'Have a sweet sixteen, Love Sora'?" Jessie wrote it all down on a piece of paper and looked it over.

"Okay," she said as she made calculations in her head, double-checking them against ones she was doing on paper. "The pendant is 600 munny, engraving 500 munny, plus tax. Your total comes to 1 232 munny." The girl then smiled knowingly at Sora. "Is she worth it?" Sora pulled out the moneybag Max had filled for him in Neverland.

"Even if it cost me all the munny in the worlds," he responded as he placed the bag on the counter, "I'd still gladly pay it. Here you are, 1 232 munny on the button. When will it be ready?" She took the money and placed it as well as the pendant under the counter.

"Tomorrow afternoon," she said pleasantly. Sora thanked her and promised he'd be by tomorrow to pick it up before dashing off after Kairi.

"What were you doing Sora?" Kairi asked as soon as he caught up with her outside of Merlin's house. Sora instantly began sweating bullets and he turned Kairi away.

"Oh, nothing," he said quickly and in a shaky voice. Kairi sighed as Sora led her in. Obviously she wasn't about to find out what he had been doing. The place looked exactly the same as they had left it, except only Merlin was inside this time. He looked around when he heard them enter.

"Back so soon eh Sora?" Merlin said motioning for them to sit in a couple of chairs he conjured out of nowhere. They took their proffered seats and helped themselves to some tea that Merlin's magic cutlery was making.

"We need your help Merlin," Sora began, sipping his tea after the sugar had put two scoops in. The wizard raised his eyebrows at Sora and looked between him and Kairi.

"Really?" he asked humorously, "what with?"

"Well," Kairi said. "We need some magic training." Merlin looked splendidly excited at the prospect of having pupils again.

"Excellent," the wizard said, instantly hoping up onto his feet and grabbing his bag of holding. "Well, let's not waste time. You two need to get back on your quest pretty soon, I'm sure." He stopped and turned back to the two teens. "The quest is on hold for the moment isn't it?" Sora smiled at him as he began to follow Merlin with Kairi.

"We're pretty sure we could take a few days off," he said brightly, stepping out into the sunlight. "The King is out there with Donald and Goofy after all."

"Yeah," Kairi added. "The worlds will be fine for a couple of days." Merlin nodded his head.

"Yes, yes," he said, stroking his beard as they walked towards the castle postern. "You're both quite right." The strolled in silence into a courtyard that was beginning to bloom with flowers and Sora raised his eyebrows.

"This place truly has changed a lot," he said eyeing the postern's new look. It had been a circular platform, but now it had walkways of cobblestones between lawns of grass and bustling flowerbeds. Kairi knelt down to smell some of the flowers and Sora's heart melted as he smelled her sweet vanilla perfume again. _She sure is one of a kind_, he thought to himself. He was suddenly brought back to the here and now when Merlin spoke.

"Now," the wizard began, stroking his beard. "What sort of magic had you planned on learning?" Sora started rubbing the back of his head while Kairi turned her head to look at him. It was his idea after all.

"Well," Sora began, unsure of how Merlin would take it. "I was thinking of some kind of cleaning spell, and anything else you'd like to throw in." Merlin chuckled heartily at Sora.

"Something as simple as that?" he roared. "My lad, I hardly expected such a spell request from you!"

"Hey!" Sora retorted, plucking on his vest. "That's not fair! I don't have Donald with me anymore, and do you know just how dirty and stained our clothes got on all our adventures?" Merlin wiped a tear of mirth out of his eye.

"I'm sorry my boy," he said weakly. "I had forgotten that you didn't have the court magician with you." Merlin swiftly recovered and pulled out a brown wand. "Now, I assume you can both cast magic without a wand or Keyblade out, correct?" Sora and Kairi nodded their heads. Kairi hadn't used much magic without her Keyblade, yet she still used her light without it. "Very good," Merlin continued, "then it will be easier when I teach you how to cast magic soundlessly. That way your opponent won't be able to tell which spell you're casting, unless you want them to know of course. But the charm I shall teach you now," Merlin said with a flourish as he saw their interest peak when he mentioned mutely casting spells, "is an all around cleaning spell. Just will whatever you want to be clean and fresh, and maybe have a soft fragrance, say the spell, and it will be clean."

"Great!" Sora exclaimed, eager to get the clothes he was wearing clean for once. "What's the incantation?" As an answer, Merlin pointed his wand at a pile of dirt that was sitting on the cobblestones nearby.

"Scurgify!" he said. A light blue orb formed on the tip of his wand and shot at the dirt. It instantaneously disappeared and Sora looked on in amazement as Merlin turned to his pupils. "Now you try it." Sora nodded and placed his hand over his chest, deeply feeling the want for his clothes to become as clean as when Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had made them, but with the slight smell of mint.

"Scurgify," he whispered with his eyes closed. He could tell the magic had worked when a soft blue light filtered in through his eyelids and he breathed in the desired scent that now adorned his clothes. Sora stood in silence for a minute, breathing in the air about him like a calming drink and appreciating the newfound softness the fabric had now taken. He slowly opened his eyes when he felt someone's breath on his face and a tug on his vest. Kairi was standing in front of him, almost hanging onto his clothes as she gulped in the scent and rested her head against his soft shoulder.

"Sora," she asked light-heartedly. "How do you smell so good?" Sora chuckled at her and raised her head to kiss her waiting lips.

"Because," he whispered, bending his forehead onto hers, "Your perfume is the nicest fragrance I've ever smelled, and I want to be the best thing you ever smell." Kairi giggled at him and briefly kissed his lips again.

"You're cute when you're all gushy Sora," she whispered. Merlin cleared his throat behind them and they broke up suddenly.

"Now I know you two are in love," he said sternly, but not as sternly as when he talks to Cid, "but if you two are going to learn the advanced magic that I'm about to teach you, you can't break up for a cuddle every five minutes." Sora smiled bashfully at Merlin and rubbed the back of his head while Kairi stepped a few paces away from him and shuffled her boots, beige-green ones similar to Yuffie's that went a quarter of the way up her legs.

"Sorry Merlin," Kairi said. "It's my fault." Merlin nodded his head at her.

"It's quite alright Kairi," he said. "I'll allow it this time because that was a simple spell and when I mentioned that bit about smells it probably would have encouraged either of you." The two teens blushed slightly and glanced at each other. "Now then, are you ready to continue?" Merlin asked. Sora and Kairi looked away from each other and nodded their heads.

"We're ready," Sora declared.

"Excellent," the wizard said and looked up at the sky. "You two did pick a rather inconvenient time to drop by, it's nearly dinner time." He dropped his gaze and looked back at his pupils. "Now, I'm going to try and teach you two about vanishing and appearing spells before we must retire…"

-A-D-

The day ended quickly as Merlin taught them the magic. Sora and Kairi didn't master the vanishing spell at first and were instructed by Merlin to keep practicing, as they couldn't learn to make an object reappear if they hadn't vanished it in the first place. They strode wearily through the town, searching for a nice place to sup for the night, as Sora wasn't feeling up to cooking. They stopped in front of a café with a signboard hanging on the otherwise nondescript building. Sora pressed his finger to his ear to contact Max.

"Hey Max," he began.

"Yeah Sora?" came the reply.

"You want to eat out with me and Kairi tonight?" Sora asked pleasantly, the static of the device buzzing in his ear.

"Sure thing, where are you guys?" Kairi placed her finger on her ear to join in.

"We're at the Seventh Heaven," she said.

"Sure thing, I'll be right over." They waited outside on a bench for Max and began talking about the vanishing spell they were supposed to practice for Merlin.

"So, how well did your ruby vanish Kairi?" Sora asked. Kairi shook her head as she brought it out. The ruby was still there, but it was half transparent.

"Not so well," she said with a slight giggle. "I didn't know this magic was going to be so difficult."

"Neither did I," Sora said, protruding his own ruby. It was more significant than Kairi's, but it still had a small degree of transparency.

"Hey Sora?" Kairi asked after a pause. "Why did you pick the Seventh Heaven anyway?" The boy placed his arms behind his head just as they began to make out the figure of Max coming towards them.

"I wanted to introduce you guys to Tifa," he said standing up. "This is her place." Max joined them as Kairi stood up as well and the three of them walked into the Seventh Heaven. There were parlours in front of them in a rectangular fashion, and tables adorning the wings with purple cushions on the chairs and benches. At the back was a bar/kitchen and directly in front of the trio was a pedestal where a girl with brown hair held back by a few pink ribbons was standing.

"Table for three?" the girl asked. The trio nodded. "Do you have a reservation?"

"They don't need a reservation Marlene," they heard someone call. "They're our friends." Sora turned his head to see a girl around twenty with long black hair and wearing a shirt and long skirt, both black, waving at them from the bar. "Welcome Sora," she said as the three of them walked up to the bar and took seats on the barstools.

"How's it going Tifa?" Sora asked as Tifa got him a water. "Found Cloud yet?" Tifa sighed and shook her head.

"Not yet," she said brightly. "I'm heading out soon though to look again, but who are these two?" Tifa turned her attention between Max and Kairi and then looked back at Sora. "He looks like Goofy, but I haven't seen her before."

"Oh right!" Sora said after he took a sip of his water. "This is Max, Goofy's son," Max and Tifa shook hands and Sora wrapped his arm around Kairi, who giggled a little as her water spilled a little on the bar. "And this," Sora continued, gazing into her eyes, "is my girlfriend Kairi." Tifa smiled at them and shook Kairi's hand.

"You're breaking a lot of hearts Sora," Tifa said with her arms crossed. Sora chuckled at her and he squeezed Kairi a little tighter.

"We already did that when we were here a day or two ago," he said, remembering that they had really only spent about three minutes in Neverland. Tifa raised an eyebrow at them and Kairi giggled.

"We kissed in front of a mob of rabid fangirls," she said, giving Sora a quick peck on the cheek. "That, and I kinda fought with some stupid girl who kissed Sora." Tifa shook her head at them although she smiled warmly.

"That would do it," she sighed before addressing Kairi herself. "So you're fighting too?"

"Yep," Kairi answered brightly, drawing the Oathkeeper. "I've got my own Keyblade." Tifa giggled slightly.

"We can't leave it up to the boys all the time can we?" she asked and Kairi nodded. "I mean, you have your Keyblade, Yuffie wields her giant shuriken, Aerith has a quarterstaff, and I use my fists…"

They spent hours in the Seventh Heaven, just talking with Tifa and eating whatever she offered on the house. Tifa seemed to think that it was a great idea for them to open a restaurant after their adventures are over, just as long as it didn't take business away from the Seventh Heaven. After a time, Leon and the whole gang showed up and joined in, and a crowd also drew around them as Sora recounted his tales. He and Kairi had come to the understanding that even though they did not know the situation on the islands, they would be safe because Riku was there.

"And now," he concluded. "We're studying with Merlin for a few days before we continue our journey."

"Remember Sora," Merlin advised, taking a sip of his milkshake. "You and Kairi need to keep practicing that vanishing spell."

"Yeah, yeah," Sora said as he protruded his ruby again and began to concentrate. "Evanesco," he said. Miraculously, the ruby vanished. Kairi beamed at him in admiration, she had already managed to vanish hers while they had been talking to Tifa.

"It looks like things are looking up," she said.

-A-D-

_0630hrs, Friday, August 29th, 2003,  
Felra, Destiny Islands,  
Riku_

Riku awoke in the morning with a pang as he remembered the conversation they had had with PJ the previous day and the ensuing planning session the three of them held immediately after. The current plan was for Axel and Yuffie to inform the Guardians as to what was occurring, but to keep Seymour, his wife, and Sora's mother in the dark.

_I really hope that we're doing the right thing_, Riku thought as he left early for school, disregarding his parents' remarks about how he should eat breakfast first. Stepping outside of his house, Riku began to walk briskly down the streets atop the peak of the middle and highest hill in order to get to the turn that would take him east to the school. Guardians with varied weapons and leather armour were out on the streets, pairs of them leading small groups of unarmed students to different schools.

"Hey you, kid!" one Guardian, a young male probably in his early twenties who was wearing green and red and wielding an axe in tandem with a round shield, yelled at Riku, "get over here where it's safe!"

Riku glanced at him with a small smile on his face. He did look to be in his early twenties, was maybe two inches taller than Riku, and was fairly muscled; but the man had _no_ idea that Riku was probably far more capable at handling whatever Heartless may block his path on his way to school that morning, and that travelling without becoming part of a large group would probably be much safer for everyone involved. Heartless were drawn to the Keyblade, and would attempt to kill or steal the hearts of those who wielded it.

The man was still yelling at him while the group of about twenty students he and his companion were guarding were looking at Riku with differing looks. Some seemed nervous and anxious, others were smiling and shaking their heads, knowing Riku personally, and a few others were frowning at him in disapproval.

Riku gave a dry chuckle and continued to ignore the Guardian and began walking faster; he could see the intersection he needed to turn at. It wouldn't be too much longer. Riku could hear quick and heavy footsteps behind him and realized that that one Guardian was growing impatient with him, and didn't seem to want to leave him alone.

A hand roughly grasped his shoulder and Riku turned around to stare directly into the annoyed face of the young man. "What do you think you're doing kid?" the man grumbled in frustration. "Don't you know that it isn't safe to be by—?"

The man stopped and Riku spun around as a small sphere of darkness opened in front of them, and out popped a Soldier Heartless. It fell onto the ground, clacking about in its iron-shod feet and helmeted head. Bright red claws glistened on its hands, and its yellow eyes gleamed out from underneath the helmet. Two more swirls of darkness appeared, bringing in two more Soldiers, and then another three, and then two more on the sides, bringing the total to eight.

"Oh shit," the Guardian muttered, drawing his axe from where he'd placed it on his belt. Riku scanned the immediate area, looking quickly from Soldier to Soldier.

"Really?" he asked, loosening his tie a little bit, "this is a few more than I expected, but still no challenge." His view was suddenly obscured by a back in front of him.

"Get back!" the Guardian ordered, apparently not having heard him. "I'll hold 'em off." Without another word, the man gave a loud battle-cry and swung his axe down towards the first Soldier in front of them. It cut right through the helmet and left a deep, dark wound in the Soldier's head. Tendrils of darkness flooded out of the wound like its blood, and the axe came back and around and hacked into the creature's right side. The Soldier fell to the ground with a hard _thud_, and disappeared in a dark cloud a moment later. The Guardian raised his shield, blocking an incoming Soldier's booted foot from connecting with his chest, and retaliated with a vicious swipe to his attacker's neck.

Riku smiled as his hand flashed with white light, and Way to the Dawn appeared in the grasp of his right hand. The Sun's morning light glinted off the red blade and the keychain shaped like the Heartless emblem. At once, the remaining six Heartless turned their heads and attentions to Riku, and the closest two started to make their way towards him.

Riku smirked.

The first of those two had barely taken its first step in his direction when Way to the Dawn speared its stomach, left, and swept diagonally across its torso. Riku pulled his Keyblade back as the Heartless was starting to disappear into darkness, its captive pink heart beginning to become visible and rise into the sky, and bolted in front of the male Guardian, his profile down and low, like he was rollerblading. His body passed underneath the axe-arm of the Guardian, and Riku sliced his Keyblade through the chest of another Soldier to his right, the fingers of his left hand beginning to curl with flickering darkness. He spun about just before the one he killed started to fade and flashed his left hand out towards a Soldier standing in front of the Guardian. Three fireballs of black and blue flames pulsed out of his palm, and at the same instant there was the loud sound of a gunshot. Riku's fireballs struck one after the other against the Soldier, the third blasting it away into dark oblivion.

Silver hair was moved out of his aqua eyes as Riku turned to the sound of the gunshot, and saw that the Heartless that had been to the left of his initial position behind the back of the male Guardian was vanishing in a cloud of darkness. The other Guardian had fired his rifle from a standing position with superb accuracy directly into the head of the fourth Soldier.

"Hm," the Guardian standing next to Riku began, drawing the Keyblade Master's attention to him, "seems I was wrong. You're good."

"Thanks," Riku said, smirking at the man's own smirk while the Guardian chopped down with his axe on one of the final two Soldiers. "You're not so bad yourself. Mind if I take the last one?"

"Be my guest." Riku nodded his head and raised his arm up and slightly to the right, blocking the kick from that final Soldier with the flat of his Keyblade. He'd cut through the Heartless' torso before it even had the time to hit the ground again.

Riku looked at the four vanishing hearts with a satisfied, yet also pensive look. _Do Nobodies really have consciences?_ he thought. _Could Cossex really be unsure about her orders, and that's why the pressure's lightening?_

"You have to be in one of the higher Combat Mastery classes," the Guardian to Riku's left said, drawing the Keyblade Master's attention back to him. He was smiling at him. "You're probably better than most of us juniors too," he added, patting Riku on the shoulder. "Although, you still have to be better than good to be sent out to do work like this."

The Guardian nodded his head once more and went back to join his companion and the group. Riku just smiled and shook his head before heading off for the school again, his thoughts around Cossex.

Riku arrived without further incident, arriving at the front doors to find Yuffie waiting for him. Together they waited for the escorted groups of students to arrive, and quickly ushered each group into the school.

"So how was your trip to the school this morning?" Yuffie asked as one group that had been two groups behind the one Riku was ahead of entered through the doors.

"Too easy," Riku replied. "Low level Heartless, nothing big or troublesome, but they're starting to show up in larger numbers. A group of eight Soldiers came on me and a Guardian from the group that had been behind me. I don't know how well two escorts will be able to handle them if the swarm size gets any bigger."

"Don't think like that!" Yuffie told him quickly. An uncomfortable silence passed between them. "Do you always think like this?" Yuffie asked as she broke the silence. Riku barked a laugh.

"Ever since that summer," he replied. "Maybe Sora's right. Maybe I have been hanging out in darkness for too long." Yuffie giggled slightly and poked him in the chest.

"Then it's high time you started living in the realm of light," she ordered. "C'mon," she said cheerily, "let's go inside. I have a class to teach and you have one to go to."

"Yeah, sure," Riku said unsteadily as he rubbed the spot where she poked him. He didn't immediately follow her, as the spot where she had touched felt strange. It didn't hurt, but it felt…a bit weird. He couldn't quite make out the feeling. And what she said was sticking in his mind; he wasn't living in the realm of light, not really.

Riku looked down at the hand where he'd fired a Dark Aura from. He was used to the darkness, and was unsure about the light. Light revealed things the darkness kept hidden, like emotions that were unknown or whoever might be lurking inside it. Riku grimaced. He knew who was lurking in the darkness of his heart. Xehanort's Heartless was still inside him, buried deep down. But one might live in both, in the twilight between light and darkness. Then Riku suddenly remembered something Sora had said that someone else had said to him.

"But who," Riku asked in vain, "carries the light to balance my darkness?" He lifted his head and looked through the main door's windows at the waving figure of Yuffie. Riku strode forward and opened the doors to follow her.

_Maybe… _

-A-D-

_1600hrs, Saturday, August 30th, 2003  
The Postern, Radiant Garden,  
Sora_

The day passed by quickly on Radiant Garden. Sora and Kairi had mastered vanishing and reappearing spells, summoning charms, conjuring (which culminated in Kairi and Merlin arguing for fifteen minutes about the most fundamental law of the universe that matter cannot be created nor destroyed with Merlin winning by correcting Kairi that it was _energy_ that could not be created or destroyed, and matter could be created through using energy. Indeed, that that was how the universe itself was created.), how to cast spells without uttering a single word (which took longer to master than either of them had expected), and the duo had also created a Limit for themselves.

"Excellent!" Merlin said as he clapped his hands after they demonstrated it.

"You two really put a lot of effort into it didn't you?" Tifa asked, as she and the whole gang had stopped by to watch their training. Sora and Kairi nodded heartily, grinning at each other.

"Well," Merlin said. "I think that will be enough for now. You two should be prepared to face anything on your journey." Sora and Kairi bowed.

"Thanks Merlin," Kairi said. Merlin waved her praise off with a flick of his wrist.

"No trouble at all my dear." Leon began rubbing his chin.

"So where are you two planning on heading?" he asked.

"I was thinking of Twilight Town first," Sora announced. "We can see Hayner, Pence, and Olette again. Then Land of Dragons or the Coliseum."

"You might want to add Beast's Castle into the early part of that list," Leon advised. "The King called and said that Maleficent is sending her henchmen out to capture the Princesses." Sora, Kairi, and Max nodded their heads.

"Okay," Kairi relented. "We'll go to Twilight Town first, then the Beast's Castle." Leon nodded at them as they walked away after giving their farewells.

"So tell me Mr. Prime Minister," Cid asked after Sora and Kairi had vanished from the postern, "why didn't you tell them about the plot against their home Islands?"

"King Mickey said not to tell them," Leon answered. Cid huffed at this news as Merlin stroked his long white beard.

"The King is being very secretive of late," he observed. Sora and company strolled through the town until they eventually found themselves in the marketplace, nearby the place where they had landed the _Highwind_.

"Uh, just a second guys," Sora said hurriedly as he fell back. "I just remembered I have to do something, I'll be right back." Kairi and Max exchanged glances and shrugged before heading up the landing ramp into the ship. Sora ran back through the marketplace until he reached the stall where he bought Kairi's birthday present. He could see that Jessie was still working today.

"Jessie!" Sora called in haste, and she turned her head to see him running flat out to reach her. Sora approached the stall, not even panting for breath. "Is it ready?" As an answer Jessie reached under the counter and pulled the pendant out and placed it in Sora's hand.

"Does it look ready?" Jessie asked humourously. Sora turned the pendant over in his hand. The engravings in the slightly pink metal were perfectly crafted, the words in sharp contrast to the smooth exterior. Jessie smiled at him. "She must be a very lucky girl to have someone like you," she commented. Sora shook his head and briefly muttered 'evanesco' under his breath. Jessie's eyes grew wide as she saw the pendant disappear in a white shimmer.

"No," Sora said as he brought his head up to look at Jessie before he walked off. "I'm a very lucky guy to have a girl like her."

-A-D-

_1525hrs, Friday, August 29th, 2003,  
Odyssey High, Felra, Destiny Islands,  
Riku _

Riku had another tiring day. It wasn't tough, just boring. He had aced a math test, actually gotten high marks on the Biology essay, and floored everybody in his Advanced Combat Master 30 class, which was now being taught by Yuffie and Axel as all the other teachers of that course had been called out by both Seymour and Garda to patrol the streets. Guardians no longer showed up to observe the students, too busy dealing with Heartless and fiends to spend any time at the school. The mayor still had no idea that his daughter's enemy was gathering on his doorstep as the King had requested, and nearly everybody else was beginning to think that the crisis was abating as fewer and fewer Heartless appeared throughout the day.

"I'll give her one more day," Axel told to Riku in his block two class. "If she's having misgivings about the whole thing, I'd give her one more day before she decides she finally has to do it." Riku had looked sceptically at him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. Axel barked a laugh at him.

"I was Xemnas' assassin, and I was the one who got stuck with all the icky jobs. Got it memorized?" Yuffie, though she hid the fact that she was worried very easily from her pupils, was of similar mind.

"She'll attack us soon," she whispered to Riku after her fourth block class was over. "And they aren't ready to take it." Riku looked at her curiously.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

Yuffie looked up at him with trepidation. "Three of the junior Guardians were ambushed today while on patrol by a group of ten Heartless. One of the Guardians was hurt bad. The Heartless were mostly small-fry, but from what the guy's friends were saying, two of them were Neoshadows."

Riku's eyes widened slightly. Neoshadows were no problem for people like him, Sora, or likely Yuffie, but he wouldn't want green Guardians or Combat Mastery students going up against them. He looked more closely at Yuffie. She was looking down, and one of her hands was clenched lightly into a fist and was hovering anxiously near her chin.

For some reason he knew at once that he didn't like this look on Yuffie. "Look at me," he ordered. "We already have me thinking this way, we don't need another me." Yuffie looked up at him and nestled herself in the crook of his shoulder. Riku was startled for a moment at her sudden movement, and was surprised at how well she fit there. He stood stunned for a few moments before he realized what she needed and began to stroke her back comfortingly. "Shush," he whispered quietly. "We'll get through this, we aren't going to die, and we aren't going to let her do what she wants."

"That's not what I'm afraid of," Yuffie said quietly, her brown eyes full of worry. "I'm not afraid of us dying, I'm just afraid of seeing someone else young like us die."

"I don't want to either," Riku told her, his voice strong and forcing her eyes to stay on his, "and I'll do whatever I can to make sure that that does not happen."

-A-D-

_1230hrs, Sunday, August 31st, 2003,  
Station Plaza, Twilight Town,  
Sora_

The _Highwind_ landed by the train station in Twilight Town and the three teens inside walked out into the perpetual twilight. The place was exactly as Sora had remembered it, the brickwork of the buildings, the giant clock tower on the station, and the great sun stuck in dusk, despite it being the middle of the day. The three walked swiftly through Market Street towards the Back Alley, where a hanging red carpet concealed the entrance to the Usual Spot where the Twilight Town gang hung out. Sora pulled back the curtain and walked in to see a spiky blonde, blue-eyed boy wearing camouflage jeans and a gray shirt sitting up on a radiator, a girl with short brown hair, green eyes and wearing a white flower patterned orange shirt and gray shorts sitting on a red loveseat, and a boy with yellow eyes, black hair held above his head by a black headband, and wearing a red jersey and blue jeans relaxing on a blue armchair. The Usual Spot itself was a golden colour, with posters stuck up here and there and a dartboard stuck up on the wall and a couple of wooden swords also rested in the corner. The three teens inside looked up and smiled excitedly as Sora entered, closely followed by Kairi.

"You guys made it back," the one wearing a jersey said as the girl leapt up and embraced Kairi.

"Of course we did Pence," Sora said as the girl released Kairi and gave Sora a hug as well.

"We were worried about you," the girl said after she let go of Sora as Max was walking in. "Especially after that guy with spiky red hair took you away Kairi."

"Don't worry Olette," Kairi said. "I'm perfectly fine now." Sora looked at his girlfriend and they both grinned at each other. The blonde one raised an eyebrow as he looked between their faces.

"Is there anything that happened between the two of you that we should know about?" he asked. Kairi smirked as she slowly paced towards Sora.

"Now that you mention it Hayner," she said delicately. Kairi nestled herself into the crook in Sora's shoulder, and despite the fact that they were the same height she fit in perfectly and Kairi pecked his cheek. "What does this tell you happened?" she finished her sentence as she looked at the three she had briefly met. Olette's emerald eyes melted as she cupped her hands together and placed them by her cheek.

"I knew you two would get together after you told us your story Kairi," she sighed dreamily. Max cleared his throat to clarify his presence.

"Hello," he said in a humourously annoyed tone, he had learned to live with Sora and Kairi's behaviour after a while, "third wheel here, and waiting to be introduced." Sora smiled apologetically and Kairi blushed a little, they had both forgotten to introduce him.

"Sorry Max," Sora said. "Hayner, Pence, Olette," Sora said indicating each of them respectively, "this is our friend Max." Max stepped forward and shook hands with the three teens from Twilight Town.

"And before you ask," Max said quickly. "Yes Goofy is my father."

"So Max," Hayner asked suddenly, "you ever struggled before?" Max looked inquiringly at him, as if silently saying 'struggled?' Hayner chuckled at him. "It's a fighting sport we have here in town…" Hayner explained as he dragged Max off towards the sandlot.

"Hey there's a tournament today," Pence said. "Maybe you should sign up Sora." Sora mulled it over for a second and looked at Pence.

"Alright," he said. "On one condition," he then turned to look at Kairi, "Kairi joins in too." She smiled at him and took his arm.

"I'd be happy to."

-A-D-

_1300hrs, Sunday, August 31st, 2003,  
City Hall, Felra, Destiny Islands,  
Seymour_

Seymour was in his office in the early afternoon of with Axel, and one other. The other was a male of about six-foot-three, and two hundred-twelve pounds. He had granite grey eyes and thick black hair, pulled back into a short tail. On his chest was an undone white collared vest, revealing a toned, tanned, and well-muscled chest and thick, knotted arms. White shorts were worn on his hips, and across his back was slung a great claymore. If Sora had been there, the only thing he would have been able to compare it to would have either been Saïx's own claymore or Cloud's Buster Sword.

This man was Garda, the leader of the Guardians. Local myth told that he was the strongest and greatest man who had ever been in the organization in all its long history, and was also its greatest leader. He had the aptitude and mindset that would have made him a very brilliant General if he ever went to the continent. Garda, so the stories said, had defeated a raging Behemoth King in the mines of Nova single-handedly, and had felled massive fiends with single blows from his great sword that would have taken lesser men many strikes to defeat. He was a legend at the shocking young age of thirty-seven.

Destiny Islands' Mayor shifted uncomfortably while sitting in his desk. "So let me get this straight," he said, looking at Axel. "You're telling me that Maleficent, the witch that the Chosen Master of the Keyblade my daughter's new boyfriend Sora, defeated once already has sent the same Nobody who appeared at their celebratory party four days ago to kill my wife, me, and Sora's mother for the sole intent of getting to both him and Kairi? And now there's an army of Heartless heading straight for this city?"

Axel nodded but looked away. "Uh, yeah," he answered. "King Mickey told me not to tell yah, but I figured that it might be better in the long run if you knew."

"Well your warning is more than a little untimely," Garda grumbled. "Had you told at least _me_ sooner, we could have been more prepared."

"All the same, we've got an army of Heartless heading here," Axel said, "so whether or not the Guardians are prepared isn't an issue. The important thing here is that there are _way_ too many for us to be able to hold them back. They're gonna get through and into the city, got it memorized?"

"You've made that clear," Garda grumbled, looking at a screen that Axel had brought with him, wirelessly connected to the Heartless detector in the hidden basement of the house he and Yuffie were currently in. There was on overlay map of the city on the screen, and coloured dots to represent Heartless, Guardians and Combat Mastery students, and civilians, were moving about on it. Garda's eyes were inescapably drawn to the mass of red dots to the east of the city, a mass that was slowly getting larger and larger with each passing second.

The leader of the Guardians sighed as he quickly performed mental calculations in his head. "He's right. Even if all of us were on Felra, and we were all out there, we would be unable to keep all of them from entering the city. Seymour, we must evacuate."

"Evacuate!?" the blonde man asked incredulously, rising from his chair. "How are we supposed to commence a large-scale evacuation of the city in mere minutes? We can't run to the hills because that's where our enemies are coming from; the only place to fly to is the sea. Do you know how many ships we'll need to ferry everyone to Dunash or a different island? You go too far Garda!"

"It's the only thing we can do to save our people," Garda told him adamantly. "If you're so worried about how much time it will take, then we'll hold the line until you've damn well gotten your time!"

"There's another option," Axel interjected coolly. Seymour and Garda both looked at him.

"We could use a corridor of darkness to transport people to the other island, or another world if that would suit them better."

Seymour opened his mouth at once, but found that Garda beat him to it. "Aren't those the same things that these Heartless and Nobodies use to travel? How safe are they?"

"The risk that Cossex won't find out that we're using one, and the risk that she won't just waltz right inside and ambush us isn't zero," Axel answered. "But, it is much less noticeable than a fleet of ships in harbour."

"Then I say we use one," Garda said, looking towards Seymour. "Get everyone inside, transport them to somewhere same on Dunash. We can have some of the Combat Mastery students and instructors guard them, since the risk to them likely won't be as great as the main assault."

Seymour bowed his head, his hands together. He wasn't confident about this plan. And in fact, he was getting less and less confident about Axel and the King that his daughter looked up to after the things that Axel had neglected to tell him about. There was one other nagging thought in his mind as well.

"Bring me my wife," he said to Garda, looking up.

"Excuse me?" Axel asked. "You want your wife at a time like this?"

"You and your wife have both been marked for death," Garda growled, likely annoyed at Seymour's apparent indecision. "If we bring her to you then you'll both be sitting ducks."

"Axel," Seymour said, "what sort of effects would a dark corridor have on children?"

The former red-headed Nobody seemed surprised by his question. He looked down and started to rub the back of his head. "I don't know," he answered. "It'd act the same on them, like anybody else, I guess."

"What about unborn children?" Seymour pressed, his voice rising in volume.

Garda gave him a questioning look. "Seymour?"

He looked at the leader of the Guardians. "Janet is four and a half weeks pregnant," he stated, "I'm not going to have her leave my side in this situation."

Garda sighed and nodded his head. "Alright, I can understand that," he said, even though he truly didn't, not being married and never having had a significant other (as far as Seymour had been able to tell). "But about the evacuation…?"

"Use the corridor," Seymour said, turning to Axel. "Gather everyone on the beaches to the west by the docks; use the corridor there. But say nothing to Anne and nothing to my wife. Send Anne along in the middle of the crowd so she may avoid detection, and Janet and I will go last."

"Seymour!" Garda spat. "You're—"

"You will not change my mind in this," the blonde-haired man retorted, his grey eyes like stone. "I am the Mayor. I am the political leader of these Islands, and while I'm not the Chief Guardian, I will not run like a frightened rabbit!" He looked between Garda and Axel quickly. "You both know what to do; go!" They both turned away.

"But the rabbit knows when to run and hide," Axel muttered under his breath to Garda.

"Politicians," the Chief Guardian huffed, equally as quiet.

"Yuffie's already got a hold of everybody we can," Axel told him. "We just don't have the ability to contact Guardians."

"Leave it to me," Garda said. "You get the kids and I'll get the pros. We'll meet at the park on Leo Avenue and Main Street."

-A-D-

_1310hrs,  
Felra, Destiny Islands,  
Riku_

Riku was rollerblading through the streets of the east end of downtown, the start of which was about seven kilometres past his school and the end was another three in the same direction. At the end of the high-rise buildings, a suburb like where he and his friends resided in stretched tentatively for another four kilometres east before it petered out and gave way to the tamed and then untamed wilderness, among which lay numerous large orchards and small mining and logging communities. A couple of clicks to Riku's south resided a few factories and more housing and commercial property, but otherwise nothing much else before hitting a block of hotels, spas, resorts, and long stretches of quality beachfront.

Way to the Dawn was drawn as the afternoon sun beat down on his bent back while he pumped his legs, speeding down the streets. He'd gotten a call at home from Yuffie close to fifty minutes before that they'd spotted a mass of Heartless at the edge of their tracking system, coming in from the east. Riku had known at once that this was the attack that they had been dreading, and that since Yuffie had called him about fifty minutes before, and that the edge was ten kilometres from the city, that the host was already roughly halfway to the city.

Riku's pocket started to vibrate as he rounded a corner, just barely missing a man riding a bicycle going the opposite direction. He dismissed his Keyblade and his right hand dove into the right pocket on his jeans. He pulled out and flipped open a black cell phone and brought it to his ear, just underneath his helmet. "Yeah?"

"We're two blocks ahead of you and one to your right," Yuffie's voice spoke through the receiver.

"You're tracking me?" Riku asked curiously as he passed under the small shadow of a high-rise apartment building. The Sun's light became obscured by thick grey clouds rolling in from the east.

"Yeah," Yuffie answered. "Hurry up, the meeting's going to start at any minute!"

"Meeting?" Riku asked, now frowning in confusion. He received no answer, as Yuffie had hung up. Scowling, Riku placed his phone back in his pocket.

"Hey Riku!"

The warrior turned his head to glance behind him for a second, and he saw Tidus and Wakka rocketing towards him on skateboards. A loud _clacking_ sound entered his ears to Riku's right, and when he looked he saw Selphie rollerblading alongside him. All three of them were armed. Tidus held the Brotherhood in his right hand, and Wakka was holding onto his spiked, black blitzball. Grasped in Selphie's hand was a pale steel sword with a black grip, held back behind her in-line with her arm.

With a roar and a _crash_, sixty different teenagers on bikes, skateboards, and rollerblades dropped down and formed up all around Riku, coming in from alleys, ramps, other streets, and (if Riku would have imagined it) almost out of thin air. Every last one of them had a weapon on them. Riku recognized a number of them from his Combat Mastery 30 Adv. class, and several others from the 20 class that Tidus and Selphie were in with Sora and Kairi. Others looked younger, as if they were in the classes for tenth grade students, and more than a few looked more apprehensive than others; those must have been from the regular classes.

Riku turned at the appropriate street and a loud _"kweh!"_ sounded from behind him. He turned his head and saw fifteen Guardians mounted on chocobos blazing through the street in a single column, the great yellow birds with their necks bent down and silver armour on their heads and chests. At their head was a man he'd only seen pictures of and heard stories about, a man with a short tail of black hair and a massive sword strapped to his back: Garda, the Chief Guardian. Riku was amazed. It seemed that at every turn and with each passing second, every single combatant on the island was gathering around him.

Then he had a sobering thought. If it appeared as if everyone was being called out to battle, then they must be facing a truly daunting force.

The mounted group made a left incline at the next intersection and rode straight into a park, where a good number of people had already gathered. Riku and Selphie jumped on their rollerblades to mount the curb and both of them steered for a path to take them to where the majority of warriors were gathering, those teenage fighters who were bladed like them following, while the others swarmed like floodwaters in a direct line towards the meeting-place.

Riku took a long look at the people within the park as he found a path to a spot where Yuffie was standing and waving at him. There were another thirty-or-so Guardians with chocobos, and maybe ninety more of them on foot. A small number of other adults who had been Guardians at one time or another or were Combat Mastery instructors were also present, and twenty youth had also gathered. Axel was already there too.

"What's the plan Yuffie?" he asked as he halted and dropped to the ground with Selphie and twenty others, doing his best to remove his rollerblades, helmet, knee and elbow pads, and wrist protectors as quickly as possible.

"Listen up," she said, "all of you. Garda's about to—"

"Guardians!" the imposing man began in a loud and authoritative voice, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Teachers! Students! Citizens and Defenders of Felra and Destiny Islands alike! Our home is threatened! Our hearts are at risk! Our friends and family are in danger!! Heed my words if you want to stay out of Hades this night!"

"That caught my attention," Riku murmured in surprise, staring up at this man. He sat tall on his mount of yellow feathers, his bird staring defiantly into the crowd. Garda's powerful voice drew all eyes and ears towards him, and every voice was stilled as his own greater one commanded their attention and respect.

"For the past four nights and three days we have been ravaged by demon fiends," Garda continued. "These dark creatures called Heartless. They seek to take our hearts, to turn us into Heartless ourselves; they are soulless killing machines with nothing but base instinct! Like feeble Dingoes, individually they are nothing greater than a lick of wind to ones such as us, but gathered together they are a danger, and when guided by a stronger, darker being, they become a menace."

Garda's granite eyes surveyed them for three seconds. "Today, they have a darker being leading them," he told them. He waited for two more seconds as whispered filtered through the crowd before silencing them with a hand. "We are outnumbered a thousand to one, good odds for any Guardian, but we aren't about to let that stop us!" he said. "Fear clutches at us, and the city is in danger, but more important are the people within it. Today we fight to defend our homes, our lives, and our friends that stand behind, looking with wonder and hope at our strong backs!"

Garda's voice was filled with such strength and heart that Riku was finding it hard not to have his spirits soar just listening to him. "Rally to me!" Garda called to them. "Rally to me, and we'll have the victory, no matter what it takes or what an outsider would say the outcome is. Put your heart into this battle, no matter your part, and we will have victory! What is the Pledge of the Guardians?"

And then his voice was joined by more than ten dozen voices of proud Guardians, all of them crying, "We fight for our Honour and for Glory! We fight for our Homes and Freedom! And we fight for our Loved Ones!!"

Riku could see Garda's smile and the man said, "Axel."

"Yo," the former Nobody said, coming forward into the limelight. "Here's the situation: the Heartless are coming from the east, and they'll at the city's edge in about an hour. We won't be able to hold them off indefinitely, so we'll be evacuating everyone from Felra to Dunash through use of a piece of magic used by the Heartless and those who control them, a dark portal."

The crowd began to mutter, and someone blurted out, "The whole city in an hour!? That's impossible!"

"I don't recall saying that we'd be getting everybody out in an hour," Axel replied with a grin, "all I said was that the Heartless would be here in an hour, got it memorized? Most of us are going to be just outside of the city, holding them back, while the remainder deal with the evacuation and guarding the civilians while they're inside the corridor, since it isn't a one hundred percent secure way of transporting them. The people detailed to escort duty will mostly be the younger Combat Mastery and Advanced CM students, while Guardians and those in their final year will see to the defence. We're gonna gather the civilians on the beaches west of the city. Everybody got that memorized?"

Axel looked out into the crowd, and Riku gained eye contact with him. The red-head smirked. "Keyblade Boy, Yuffie, you two just go and pick out a good spot for yourselves."

"You got it Axel," Yuffie told him. "Come on Riku!"

Riku nodded. "Right," he said, grasping Way to the Dawn in his hand. Looks followed both him and the eighteen-year-old kunoichi as they left the park at a brisk pace, heading north and east. They had a bit more than four kilometres to travel, and only an hour to do it in. The distance could be done easily within that time frame, but the underlying feeling of needing haste had settled into their minds, forcing them to move faster.

Fifteen minutes after they had begun their walk, amongst the streets and houses resembling the ones on the city's outskirts to the west, north, and south side near the beaches, Guardians mounted on chocobos rode into the street behind them, winding horns and giving shouts. Riku and Yuffie quickened their pace as doors and windows opened, and people trembling with nervousness crept or peered outside.

"Looks like their starting the evacuation," Yuffie said, looking around as the mounted men and women rode up to those people who were more curious than others and began explaining in simplest terms.

"I don't know how effective it's going to be," Riku added. "But let's get going. We've got a job to do."

"We still have a bit of time," Yuffie said, even as they sped up. "We could get a bite to eat first."

"You're thinking about food?" Riku asked incredulously. "It's one-thirty! Did you skip lunch or something Yuffie?"

"Actually I did," Yuffie answered, wrinkling her nose at him.

Riku sighed but hid a smile. "Alright, I could use something myself, do you know any good fast-food places around here?"

Yuffie beamed at him. "Follow me!" she said.

She led Riku towards a diner two blocks to the north and one to the east, a bit closer to the city's edge. He paid for her food and he sat down across from Yuffie with a slush of his own. He audibly sipped his coke slush as he watched her eat. There was something about the girl in front of him that he hadn't really seen in a lot of other girls around his age. Yuffie was like a lot of the girls on Destiny Islands, but there was something more to her that he couldn't quite place.

She dabbed up a bit of ketchup that had been on her face after an exceptionally big bite into her burger, a bite accompanied by a wide smile of contentment, and something suddenly dawned on Riku: Yuffie was cute. He shook his head slightly at the thought. So what? There were a lot of other cute girls, like Kairi for instance, so he couldn't take that as the _sole_ reason for why he found himself more and more interested in Yuffie since he'd met her back when she'd first popped into his life, dropping in front of him in the middle of a group of students as if appearing out of thin air.

Something suddenly struck Riku on the cheek and he looked down. Yuffie'd thrown a fry at his face. He looked up at her and saw that she had an amused smile on her face. "You were staring," she explained.

"I was?" he asked, looking down, shaking his shoulders, and fiddling with his cream coloured vest for a moment before returning his aqua eyes to her dark brown ones. She held his gaze sceptically.

Riku stared into her eyes and took a sip from his slush through the cup's thick straw. _Slurp._

Yuffie put down her half-eaten burger and took a fry, keeping her eyes on Riku's the whole time. She brought it to her lips and bit down on it, eliciting a _crunch_.

_Sluurp._

_Crunchcrunchcrunchcrunch._

_Sluuuurp._

_Crunchcrunch._

Riku lowered his head but kept his eyes on the eighteen-year-old kunoichi. _Sluuuuurp._

Yuffie picked up her burger with her slender hands again and looked at him from overtop it. "You're going to have to blink at some point," she said before biting into it, the sound of lettuce and slightly toasted bun being crushed and tearing apart on contact with her teeth accompanying it.

_Sluuuuuuuuuurp,_ was Riku's answer. The door opened behind where they were sitting and a Guardian entered.

"The city's being evacuated," she declared. "Everybody clear out now!"

Chairs banged and scraped as the few people apart from Riku and Yuffie that were inside rose and started to make hurried movements towards the doors. But the two teens stayed sitting, just staring emotionlessly at each other.

"Hey what are you two doing here?" the Guardian asked, coming up to stand right behind Riku's chair. "You should both be on the outskirts waiting for the Heartless. Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Riku wasn't about to let some Guardian interfere with a staring contest that Yuffie had instigated between the two of them, which is why he made no movement when the young woman tapped his shoulder.

"Yuffie's eating," Riku answered, removing his mouth from his straw but not his gaze from the raven-haired girl in front of him, "and we still have a half-hour. We'll be ready in time."

"But—"

"We'll be ready in time," Riku repeated, emphasizing each word. "Would you like to fight on an empty stomach?"

"Well no…"

"And Riku's a Keyblade Master," Yuffie added, smacking her lips after a swallow. "So even if we're a minute late to wherever we end up wanting to go, we'll make up for the slack with no problem."

_Slurp_, went Riku's slush as he clamped his mouth down on the straw again.

_Crunch_.

Riku heard the Guardian's sigh and knew that she was probably rolling her eyes. "Alright, just hurry up will you? All this waiting is making me fidgety."

Quiet greeted them after the door closed with the Guardian's booted footsteps outside of the diner. Gloom settled in with the departure of everyone else from the diner. The silence that accompanied it was heavy and foreboding, but Riku shrugged it off purposefully with a great _sluuuuuurrrpp_ of his coke slush.

Then he blinked, hard. _Brain-freeze! _Riku groaned in his mind, grasping at his skull with his hands.

Yuffie nearly spat out the last mouthful of her burger as her eyes bulged in their sockets. She made an effort at a mighty swallow before laughter escaped her lips. "Yes! I win!"

"Brain-freeze!" Riku pleaded. "Doesn't count!"

"Nope!" Yuffie laughed, taking another fry. "Brain-freezes count. Anything goes in a staring contest." She picked up her drink and basket of fries. "Come on Riku, let's get going before the Heartless show up."

He chuckled weakly and rose from the table, grabbing his half-empty frozen-carbonated-beverage before leaving. That was another thing about Yuffie that he realized, she was quite impulsive; but, even so, her impulsiveness had so far never given Riku a dull moment or left him without a smile on his face.

And despite that upbeat and energetic attitude, there was still something deeper underneath that only arose when things got tough and serious. He'd heard a suppressed note of anger and anxiety when she'd just said the word "Heartless". And the way she carried herself around, full of smiles and confidence at only eighteen; Yuffie was a very peculiar girl.

Riku smiled as he tossed away his now empty slushie cup into the garbage, and along with it went Yuffie's empty twenty-four ounce pop cup and empty fries' carton. He didn't need to tell himself twice that he liked this female ninja with raven hair who was a foot shorter than him.

They reached the outskirts of the city's east end within sight of the beaches to the north fifteen minutes later. There was already a thin line of Guardians and some of the older Combat Mastery students divided into small groups around them, the groups greatly spaced out. That was to be expected of; there was a large area to cover, and not that many people to defend it.

"And now we wait," Riku stated, staring out to the east, where he knew the Heartless were. He sat down on the lip of a small hill, his feet dangling above a pit of white sand. They were on the fourth hole, a par 4, of a golf course.

"They should be here in just a few minutes," Yuffie sighed, dropping down next to him, her oversized shuriken on the ground behind them.

"Yeah," Riku said. "You ready?"

"I was born ready," Yuffie told him, her brown eyes smiling at him. "Trust me. When those Heartless get here, they're in for a world of Yuffie hurt!"

"I'll bet," said Riku, smiling and looking away. "But Yuffie," he started a second later. "Look at all the people we've got fighting alongside us. We wouldn't need this many if it was something small."

The girl's voice caught next to him and Riku looked at her again. "How big is it?"

Yuffie gulped and looked down at her swinging feet. "Thousands, tens of thousands, I don't know… many times more Heartless than the group that attacked Radiant Garden back then."

Riku gave a very shallow gasp. He remembered Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and Mickey telling them about that battle. There had been thousands of Heartless that had swarmed what was then still called Hollow Bastion, and Sora had had to single-handedly battle against a thousand of them without Donald or Goofy by his side. The Keyblade Master had waved it off, but Riku had been able to tell that he was only putting on a brave face. He had been tested that day, but he'd passed and grown stronger.

Now Riku recognized that this was going to be his first test since Xemnas, but…

He looked at Yuffie. She was an impulsive girl, maybe she'd understand.

"Huh," he said. "So despite Cossex wanting to keep us alive, this might be our last day alive then."

Yuffie gulped and continued to look down, nodding her head.

Riku took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally for what he was about to do. He touched her cheek, and Yuffie's head whipped in his direction in confusion. "Then I'm going to spent these next hours without regretting having not done this," he told her.

"Riku…?" Yuffie asked him questioningly, searching his face in anxiety for some clue as to what he was about to do.

Riku gave her none until he'd brought his face towards her and lightly placed his lips over the ninja's, catching her by surprise and sealing her in a kiss. He'd closed his eyes, so he couldn't see her, but he'd felt for a moment a stiffening of the girl's muscles and the slightest trace a retraction. And then Riku felt them softening and beginning to press back against him, and a tiny sigh of "Mmm" escaped from the raven-haired kunoichi. He slipped his hands across her back and cupped her head, and hers came to his shoulder blades.

Riku was unsure of how long they kissed for, for as soon as one kiss ended another would begin. He had never expected that something like this would happen, that Yuffie was at least attracted to him enough to allow him to kiss her, and then to start kissing him back. She was definitely a peculiar girl; her lips were soft and gentle, moving along with his. His head started to feel a little lighter, and he felt his body growing warmer as he clutched Yuffie closer, never wanting to let her go.

A slight tremble in the ground pulled Riku back to reality, and he gently ended the kiss and looked towards the east. A great host of enemies was coming towards them, and not all of them were Heartless. He could see standard low-level varieties in great numbers: the Armoured Knights, Soldiers, and Shadows, but there were also some stronger ones like Neoshadows, Large Bodies and Lance Soldiers, and a few types that he hadn't seen in a year: the strong and tall pureblood Invisibles that floated on small wings and wielded great serrated blue swords, and gargantuan and horned purple Behemoths that slowly marched forward on their four legs, each single step causing the earth to shake and tremble from their weight.

There were Nobodies mixed in among the Heartless too, something that Riku had to admit was a first for him. Dancers punctuated the front ranks, and Dusks seemed to slide on their feet above the bodies of the smaller Heartless. Hulking Berserkers pounded the ground with their claymores and were dragged forward by the massive swords.

Riku took all of this in within a few seconds and he looked back at Yuffie. "I'm really glad to have met you Yuffie," he said quietly.

"Me too, Riku," Yuffie told him, just as softly. Her head turned towards him and she was blushing slightly with a small smile on her face.

Riku smiled. "Yuffie, if we get through this, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

The girl's smile grew slightly and her blush marginally diminished. She nodded her head but gave a small fluttering laugh. "If? You mean when. I think our will to live through this just skyrocketed."

Riku chuckled slightly. "I guess it did," he said. He eyed Yuffie; she was still blushing. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but was that your first kiss?"

Yuffie gasped and fidgeted slightly, and her blush mounted to new levels. Riku could not suppress a tiny chuckle and the raven-haired kunoichi waved a finger in front of his face between his eyes. "If you tell anyone that that was my first I'll sock you one!" she said.

"And if you tell anyone that you're my first real girlfriend I'll—"

"You'll what?" Yuffie asked sceptically. "Huh? You'll _what?_"

"I'll tickle you!" Riku answered, grasping her forearm and pulling her head towards him so that he could look down on her with a menacing gleam in his face. "Like a demon from the darkness. It'll be a long and drawn-out torture, so horrible that you'll be begging for death to release you from your torment."

Yuffie paled with a laugh dead on her lips. "You can tickle like that?"

Riku smirked and whispered huskily to her, "Just ask Kairi." Yuffie twitched.

The ground was still trembling beneath them as the Heartless horde continued towards them, the mighty Behemoths' crashing footfalls causing most of it. Riku turned his head as a horn blew and he saw a group of eight Guardians led by Garda ride from behind straight into the Heartless with their weapons drawn. Their bright yellow chocobos towered above the forms of the smaller Heartless they charged into, running them down. Arrows flew from the bows of two Guardians, and Garda's great claymore cut through Heartless astride his mount with mighty swipes of his weapon.

The horn blew again and Riku felt his heart lifting. He and Yuffie got to their feet and the girl grabbed her fuma shuriken from behind her before they each gave loud yells and ran straight for the Heartless, hearing the shouts of the groups to their left and right.

Yuffie leapt into the air beside Riku with a shout and threw her massive shuriken down into the throng of Heartless and Nobodies, the bladed weapon spinning around rapidly and cutting down the smaller and weaker Heartless, while leaving gashes and felled limbs off of the stronger ones and cutting into Dusks and Dancers.

Riku dodged to the side as a Lance Soldier stabbed out towards him with its cursed weapon. Riku kicked the lance's shaft away and stabbed the Heartless right through the centre of its bronze body and it vanished in a puff of smoke and a fiery pink heart. A Dancer approached him from the side and Riku jumped up to avoid it grabbing him by the ankles. He twirled through the air and sliced his Keyblade right through its head, taking out the Armoured Knight that was behind it as well in flashes of white and black.

Yuffie landed next to him, snatching her shuriken up as she fell, and slashed at an Armoured Knight with it in two quick movements across her body. Her weapon cut through its armour and forced it to vanish in a cloud of black smoke, defeated. Yuffie let her weapon fly again, tearing through the dark flesh of Shadow Heartless before she turned around and withdrew from her belt her slightly curved white dagger with its golden handle, bringing the blade up just in time to catch the falling sword of another Armoured Knight. With lightning hands, she placed her left into a pouch in front of her jean shorts and withdrew a single kunai between her fingertips and threw it straight into the Armoured Knight's face. The Heartless vanished in a puff of darkness. Yuffie's left hand went through a quick spasm as she made a gesture and she vanished in a cloud of black smoke to reappear almost instantly above them. She sheathed her dagger and both of her hands flew into her pouches, withdrawing shuriken between her knuckles. Her energetic yell was loud as Yuffie flung her arms out wide, releasing the throwing stars and twisting as she fell. Her weapons descended into the mob beneath her as she caught her trademark shuriken in her hand and dropped to the ground amidst a crowd of Heartless that were all vanishing.

Riku grinned but didn't have time to watch for long as a lone Berserker came up in front of him and tried to smack him with its claymore. Riku rolled around on the ground to get behind it and leapt up, cleaving through the back with Way to the Dawn's blade. As soon as it disappeared Riku felt his knees buckle from a shockwave as a Behemoth approached to squash him and Yuffie like bugs. It lowered its head to skewer them with its large black horn that was covered in a blue mist.

"Yuffie!" Riku ordered. "Attack the horn! That's its weak point!" Yuffie nodded as she blocked a blow an Invisible was making at her with its long blue sword with her shuriken. As it recoiled she pulled her dagger out of her belt and agilely leapt up, slicing the blade along its abdomen and through its neck before she quickly removed the head with a strong swipe. As the Invisible faded, Yuffie sheathed the dagger and threw her shuriken at the Behemoth's horn. It circled around, constantly whacking the barrier away from the horn until there was nothing left. The Heartless fell onto its knees, stunned.

"Hope that helped," Yuffie said as she grabbed her weapon back and began melee fighting with it and her dagger. Riku leapt right up at the horn and sliced it in two with a great slash from his Keyblade. The Behemoth roared as it exploded in darkness, a giant heart rising into the sky. Riku turned around to see some of the Heartless escaping past them and heading across the fairway towards the city. He raised his palm and sent black and blue fireballs out of his fingertips towards them, incinerating the Heartless as they were caught in the back. Those Heartless who were behind the ones struck down turned around and twitched, recognizing that the weapon Riku held was a Keyblade, and charged back towards him.

Riku deflected the spindly arms of a Dusk away from him and hacked at the Nobody with Way to the Dawn's red blade, defeating the creature and rendering it into white sparkles with three quick slashes from his Keyblade. He spun around and jumped backwards, avoiding the sword-stroke of an Invisible. He tensed as his feet hit the ground and Riku leapt forward, twisting his shoulder slightly to avoid the still-swinging sword of the Heartless, and dug his Keyblade right into the Heartless' torso.

It was going to be one hell of an afternoon.

-A-D-

_1330hrs,  
The Sandlot, Twilight Town,  
Sora_

"The rules of the tournament are as follows," the struggle promoter in the Sandlot of Twilight Town said. "Each combatant will have one hundred orbs, totalling two hundred for the match. All you have to do is hit your opponent with your weapon and they will drop orbs. The one with the most orbs at the end of the one-minute time limit is the winner, or if either combatant can gather all two hundred orbs they automatically win. If either combatant falls out of the ring, they are automatically disqualified." Everyone in the Sandlot nodded in understanding and the struggle promoter handed each of the eight contestants a blue bat with a golden grip, and wished them luck.

"So," Sora said as he turned to Kairi and Max, "who are you fighting in the first round?"

"I'm fighting some guy named Rai," she said confidently. Sora grinned.

"Rai's kinda slow," he said. "It should be an easy fight."

"I've got some guy named Setzer," Max spoke. Sora nodded at him.

"Setzer is an okay opponent," he commented. "But he's no match for you Max."

"Hey, chicken wuss," someone taunted behind them. Sora, Kairi, and Max turned around to see a boy wearing a black toque, blue jeans, and white vest holding an ornate blue trophy with four crystals, blue, red, green, and yellow on it. "Remember this?" he asked. "I gave it to you last time you were here, but I'm winning it back."

"In your dreams Seifer," Sora challenged. Two people came up from behind Seifer and posed before Sora and Kairi. One was a tanned boy with black hair wearing a red shirt, and the other was a girl with violet-white hair wearing a lilac shirt and short beige jeans.

"Do you know them Sora?" Kairi asked, looking at the three. He nodded his head at her.

"Remember when I was telling everyone about Seifer, Rai, and Fuu?" he asked as he raised his hand towards them. "These are them."

"Yeah! You don't mess with us y'know?" Rai said, baring his fist in front of her. "And I'm going to beat you in the first round y'know?" Kairi glared Rai down.

"No," she replied icily. "I don't know. And for the record, you won't have any balls left to count when I'm through with you." Olette gasped as Kairi stalked away from Seifer and his gang, who were thoroughly stunned. Despite the fact that Sora and Hayner weren't Axel, they still took the moment to say something people all across the worlds say whenever someone counters with a line like that.

"BURN!"

"All right folks," the struggle announcer and weapon shop proprietor said. "Welcome to this weekend's struggle tournament. Remember everyone; this is the last chance of the year to vie for the coveted Four Crystal Trophy before the big Struggle tournament in the summer. The winner of this tournament wins the trophy, that's bragging rights for almost a whole year folks." He then turned his blonde head to the combatants. "Now let's meet today's entrants. The eight worthy strugglers who will face each other in the ring. For our first match we have the beautiful Kairi, now don't kill anyone Sora," he paused for laughs as Sora waved it off, receiving a friendly punch on the shoulder from Hayner and a quick smile from Kairi, "gracefully facing off against the hulking Rai. (I'm gonna own it, y'know?). In the second match we have defending champion Seifer fighting one of his own boys, let's give it up for Vivi!" Sora began clapping as Vivi, a very small boy who wore a blue trench coat and a large brown hat that enveloped his face in shadow, began happily waving at everyone as Seifer scowled. "In our third round we have outsider Max going up against the former champion Setzer." Max looked nervously at a man with silver hair in a purple cloak showing off for waving fangirls when the announcer's voice drew his attention again. "And our final match in the first round will be adventurer and Master of the Keyblade Sora facing underground favourite and local attitude problem, Hayner!" Sora and Hayner faced each other and pounded the other's outstretched fists.

"Good luck man," Hayner said and Sora nodded.

"Yeah," said he, "you too."

"Would Kairi and Rai please come up to the ring?" the announcer asked. "As the first match is about to begin." Kairi stepped forward and leapt up onto the square platform as Rai mounted the steps. She turned to see Sora blowing her a kiss and she caught it, placing it on her lips. They both grinned at each other and Kairi saw Sora whisper 'good luck'. She nodded at him and turned to face Rai.

_This is so weird_, Sora heard in his head as Kairi and Rai faced off.

_What's weird Roxas?_

_Just, being back in Twilight Town_, he said telepathically as Kairi flew forward at Rai, striking him right in the gut with a crosswise blow which sent him staggering as yellow orbs began flying about. _I mean__,_ Roxas continued, _while Naminé was putting your memories back I felt as if I was living my life out here. And now no one here even knows me._

_Everyone knows you Roxas_, Sora thought as Kairi whacked Rai on the back with her struggle bat, sending the last of Rai's orbs flying and Rai reeling to the ground. _Well,_ Sora compromised, _not everyone here. But everyone in the virtual Twilight Town knows you._

_Could we go there?_ Roxas asked in wonder.

_If we have time,_ Sora thought. _I'd actually like to get introduced to the Hayner, Pence, and Olette that you know. But if we don't have time this time here, I promise you that you will get there before the end of this journey._

_It's okay if we don't go now,_ Roxas said. _But as long as we get there sometime soon. I'd like to introduce them to Naminé._ Sora chuckled at his Nobody's response as he watched Kairi place her bat at Rai's chin in victory.

_I bet you would Roxas,_ he thought.

Vivi lost the next round by a score of one hundred seventy-three to fifteen, as there were still some orbs lying on the ground. And Max conquered his initial fear of Setzer, whose taunt of 'My life is a chip I your pile, time to ante up' shook Max, but he came back in an effective comeback to collect all two hundred orbs. The announcer then called Sora and Hayner into the ring and they squared each other off before flying into the fray. Sora Quick Ran straight for Hayner and lunged at his figure, throwing in an upper slash for good measure to send Hayner flying into the air as red orbs scattered on the ground. Sora leapt up and continually slashed Hayner in the air, sending him flying back into the center of the ring. Hayner landed in a daze and Sora ran about, grabbing the orbs up as fast as he could. Hayner recovered and came after Sora, his struggle bat moving in a blinding fury. Sora met his bat with his own, but his was faster and after four circling parries Sora hit Hayner again on the ribs and the last of the red orbs came off and stuck themselves to Sora, making him the winner. The crowd cheered and Kairi whistled as Sora raised his bat into the air.

"Good match man," Hayner said, not at all surprised that he had lost. "I knew there was no way I could take you."

"Hey," Sora said comfortingly as he placed a hand on Hayner's shoulder. "You improved a lot since the last time we struggled."

"How would you know?" Hayner asked skeptically as he crossed his arms. "You knocked me off in only fifteen seconds."

"Trust me Hayner," Sora replied. "I know you did. Next struggle match between you and Seifer, you're taking the cake."

"Well," Hayner said as he rubbed his chin while they descended the platform and stood amongst their friends, "I do love cake."

"You were amazing Sora," Pence said.

"And now commences the semi-final round," the announcer began. "Would Kairi and Seifer please step into the ring?" Kairi stepped forward and climbed up into the square again, going up the stairs is just too time consuming after all. Seifer was already waiting for her, his bat poised in front of him like the barrel of a pistol.

"Kneel loser!" he taunted. Kairi's blue eyes suddenly blazed and she gave Seifer a death-glare, which he surprisingly resisted.

"Nobody calls me a loser!" Kairi snapped, a snarl curling on her upper lip. Without warning she shot forwards and threw all her power into a slash at Seifer's bat. It contacted with a resounding crack as it not only took it out of Seifer's hand, but broke the bat in half as well. Before he could even be put in shock Kairi kicked him in the gut, hard. Seifer staggered back as a few green orbs dropped off and he suddenly found himself on the ground outside of the ring.

"I," the announcer stuttered, "I'm not quite sure what just happened. But the winner is Kairi! Would Sora and Max now like to step into the ring?" Max suddenly looked at Sora as Kairi leapt down to their level.

"Do you fight as well as Roxas?" Max asked. Sora nodded.

"We're one and the same," he responded.

"Right," Max said, nodding his head. "I forfeit," Max abruptly said. Sora and the gang were stunned.

"You sure?" Hayner asked. Max nodded his head.

"There is no possible way anyone here in this tournament could beat either Sora or Kairi," he said before shrugging his shoulders and grinning evilly. "So if I forfeit, that just speeds everything up to the climactic battle between the two lovers."

"He's right you know," Kairi said to Sora. "You would win, hands down."

"Well then," the announcer, who had been listening in to their conversation said. "Would you two like to step into the ring then?" Sora and Kairi nodded and walked forward together. The struggle promoter came up to them and presented them with two new bats.

"You two play fair now," he said. "You're at the top of the bracket." Sora and Kairi took the bats, glanced at each other, and tossed them over their heads. The Oathkeeper appeared in Kairi's hand the same time the Oblivion appeared in Sora's and they squared off, the promoter getting the heck out of the way.

"Just like on the islands eh Kairi?" Sora asked as he gripped the Oblivion. She nodded her head.

"Remember our fourth block class Sora?" she asked with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I won't hold back." Sora nodded and braced himself as she flew forward with the Oathkeeper. He raised his Keyblade upwards to parry her downward slash and struck at her side, Kairi twirling around to dodge and swinging her blade up near his neck, which Sora twitched to avoid and he brought his own blade in a horizontal slash at her side. Kairi's Keyblade struck his own and both blades recoiled. The two back-flipped over to gain some distance and Sora wordlessly released a volley of ice shards at Kairi, who countered by raising a fire shield around herself. While he was partially blocked by the flames, Sora leapt up into the air and landed on Kairi's other side, and struck at her leather armour through the shield when his blade met steel with a clang. Kairi grinned at him as she dropped the encircling flames.

"I know you far better than for that to work Sora," she said as she threw his Keyblade off of hers and struck at his midriff. Sora went flat onto the ground before the blow could be struck and aimed an attack against Kairi's booted ankles. She leapt back to dodge the strike and sent a thunderbolt down from the sky towards Sora. He looked up and rolled in the nick of time to dodge it. Sora looked up again and instinctively used a reflega spell to ground the charge from another bolt into the platform. Before either could do more, the buzzer sounded indicating that the time limit had been reached.

"Well that was quite a show!" the announcer said. "I guess for the first time ever we have two champions. Give them both the trophy!" Sora and Kairi grinned as Hayner and the gang grabbed the four crystal trophy and ran up to present it to them, as well as lifting the two up onto their shoulders. The crowd cheered as they lifted their Keyblades into the air and kissed briefly, off to celebrate their taking the cup by storm.

-A-D-

_1830hrs,  
West Beach, Felra, Destiny Islands,  
Axel_

Axel watched anxiously from inside the corridor of darkness as civilian citizens of Felra and their Guardian and Combat Mastery Student escorts continued to make their way into the portal that would take them to the centre of the small town in Dunash. They'd been ferrying the civilians across for hours already, and there were still about two hundred left including Seymour, his wife Janet, and Sora's mother Anne, as well as Riku's parents Rekun and Riley.

He had no idea why those three were still not accounted for on the other side, but they weren't and there was nothing he was able to do about it. He was simply patrolling with three Guardians and the students of his Combat Mastery Adv. 20 class. The students of the other classes had already gone through and were staying put on Dunash. He wasn't about to let them come back and possibly get mixed up in this mess.

He turned his head as he saw Kia entering from the entrance along with one of the three Guardians who had been tasked to perform this duty along with them, and Axel knew that his one was special to her, and likely one of her reasons for going into Combat Mastery in the first place. This particular Guardian was her father.

They came up to him and Kia's father was the one to speak. He seemed particularly nervous and kept looking over his shoulder. "Anything new Axel?" he asked.

The former Nobody gave a non-committal grunt. "Nothin' so much to speak of," he said. "You guys can handle this can't you? I need to see Seymour about something."

"Alright Mr. Axel," Kia said, nodding, though she too made an apprehensive glance backwards to where they had come from. Axel smiled slightly and strode past both her and her father, keeping along the edge of the civilian traffic slowly heading the other way. He passed by other students of his and Yuffie's, nodding at each in turn as he was hailed, though frowning on the inside; each one of them were decidedly grim.

Axel nearly froze when he exited the corridor on the Felra end. His teal eyes looked past the two hundred or so frightened people that were being kept calm in a jumbled mass on the beaches while his eyes adjusted to the sudden dark gloom, wind, and sea-spray, illuminated by the rosy glow of fires burning in the east. Red smoke rose from beyond the hill, flickering with reds, yellows, pinks, and oranges as unseen fires danced from behind it.

Just what the hell had been going on since he'd created the portal and gone inside!?

Not bothering to hide his displeasure at the situation (the city was _burning_ for Kingdom Heart's sake!), Axel shoved his way through the crowd until he found where the Mayor was standing with his wife, Sora's mother, and Riku's parents, the five of them with a guard of four Guardians and Garda, who was holding on to his claymore and bandaging up a shallow wound on his arm. Three chocobos were standing near them, looking a little weary themselves.

"Can I ask you what the hell you think you're doing Seymour?" Axel asked roughly, announcing his presence to the ten people in front of him. "Still standing around here while your city is burning? Didn't you get it memorized the first time? They're here to kill you!"

"Axel!" Seymour and Garda both warned simultaneously.

"Seymour?" Janet asked, both curiously and fearfully.

"And not just you!" Axel continued despite their protests. "Cossex is here to kill you, and your wife, and Anne, and she's probably ben given orders to kill off you two as well! And why? All because you're the ones our favourite Keyblade Wielders care most about besides each other! Staying all clumped together like this… you may as well be placing a big neon arrow above your heads and shouting 'Here we are! Come and get us'!"

"Axel!" Seymour snapped.

"Seymour," Anne began in a displeased growl, "is he telling the truth?"

"You're damn right I'm telling the truth!" Axel answered her. "And after we discussed this whole thing in your office I find you being an idiot. Get through that portal now!"

"I will not be a coward," Seymour told Axel firmly, standing his ground and giving the one wearing the cloak of Organization XIII a challenging look.

"Garda back me up on this," Axel said, giving the Chief Guardian a look that clearly showed he was deferring responsibility to him. Axel's hands were out to his sides; and sparks and flame crackled into existence in the palms of his gloved hands. His spinning chakrams appeared within them and his fingers flexed closed to snap them up. "Make sure that they get through that portal to the other island, alive. I'm going to find Riku and Yuffie and anyone else I can wrangle up, got it memorized?"

"Take two of my—"

"NO!" Axel retorted. "You stay here and protect them, and get them through that portal! I don't care if you have to knock them out and tie all five of them to your chocobos if you have to, just get it done!" Without another word or look, Axel took off towards the hill at a run.

-A-D-

_1845hrs,  
Odyssey High,  
Riku_

A grunt of pain escaped Riku's lips as the fireball from a Red Nocturne singed his left arm, but he took the burning sensation of the injury and used it to intensify his retaliatory strike against the Heartless with Way to the Dawn, the weapon slicing right through the red and yellow floating Heartless and turning it into a cloud of darkness, a tiny pink heart glowing amidst the dark. He turned to the right and slashed his Keyblade through the head and torso of a Soldier before taking it through another one, and then Riku spun around and ducked underneath a Dusk's head as it tried to attack him, and stabbed up into its chest. The Nobody vanished in a shimmer of white sparkles, and Riku panted tiredly and wiped sweat off his forehead with a bloody arm.

"Riku look out!" yelled the voice of a blonde boy of seventeen, roughly his height, and in his CM Adv. class from a short distance to his left. Riku turned around and fired from his left palm a blast of blue and black fire towards a Berserker that had been about to strike him with its claymore. The dark fireball made it underneath the Nobody's weapon and the Berserker stumbled slightly, and Riku forced his tired legs to jump to the Nobody's other side and cut it down with his Keyblade in a small number of slashes.

"Thanks Anar," he said appreciatively, nodding his head as the Nobody vanished into white sparkles. Riku took a quick glance around the immediate area. He, his classmate, his classmate's fraternal twin brother Isil, two other boys and one girl from his class, three Guardians, and Yuffie were currently holed up in the cafeteria of his high school, and they'd just taken out the latest wave of Heartless and Nobodies that had tried to enter to take them out.

Riku gave the Dusks that were pacing around near the entrance a scathing look as he turned away to where they'd established a makeshift back wall out of tables and chairs, where Yuffie was leaning against with one of the Guardians and the girl in his class. All three of them were female, and all three of them could have looked _a lot_ better.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, looking first to Yuffie, and then to Helena, his blonde classmate, and Nikoleta, the brunette Guardian. He pulled two potions out of his back pocket and quickly used the nozzles on the bottles' tops to spray over a deep, but healing, cut on Yuffie's leg, and multiple abrasions, burns, and cuts on both her and the other two females.

"I'm fine," Nikoleta said, grasping at the handle of her spear and trying to stand, "I can still fight." She gasped suddenly and clutched at her side, and Riku held out hands to steady her, though she tried to wave him off.

Riku and Yuffie fought alone along the golf course for the better part of twenty minutes after the Heartless and Nobodies had arrived, holding their own quite well and destroying as many as three Behemoths by themselves. But within the first moments they had been surrounded completely, and soon the sheer numbers of their enemies had forced them to make a slow, fighting, retreat. Amongst the homes and buildings of the city their thin shell of defenders met up and tightened. They had blocked off roads with their bodies and their swords, spears, arrows, axes, daggers, bullets, and magic. But even then, there were still too many for them to cover entire areas or streets, and the Heartless still moved past them and surrounded their small bands, or surged forward like a flood and broke through the lines, and the defenders of Felra had been forced to repeatedly fall back from point to point. But they gave up ground only grudgingly, making their enemies pay dearly for every millimetre they gained. The Heartless that used fire magic burned everything behind them in their wake, and each time the defenders failed to hold and fell back they lost some either to the Heartless or to death from their wounds suffered, and each lost was a dearly loved friend and comrade to at least one, and the pain and bitterness of their losses burned in every heart and vengeance guided their weapons.

But the Heartless and Nobodies kept on coming, and even adrenaline and anger could no longer fuel their tiring bodies. Small wounds that had before been minor annoyances or completely ignored were suddenly great inflammations and sources of pain, and more serious injuries were sustained as their minds tried to shut out the paralyzing agony. Out of the sixteen people (including him) from his class, twenty-three former Guardians and instructors, Yuffie, and the hundred and twenty Guardians that had been chosen to head the defence, Riku guessed that there were maybe only eleven bands that numbered between four and eight people each left (excepting theirs, which had ten), scattered among the buildings, trees, and terrain to the east of the hill with three summits, and every last one of them had sustained an injury during the fighting. Everyone else had been tasked to guard the areas where the civilians were evacuating or the inside of the corridor of darkness, around sixty fighters compared to the hundred and sixty that had fought on the front line.

"I'll be okay," Yuffie groaned, extending out a hand for Riku to pull her up with, the other holding on to her shuriken. "What about you?" she asked, looking towards the burn on his arm, and a shallow stab-wound on his left shoulder.

"It doesn't bother me," Riku answered after she was on her feet, summoning his Keyblade back into his right hand, "I'll manage". He gave Nikoleta a long look as she leaned back against their makeshift wall to keep her body steady and then glanced down at Helena. "How 'bout you?"

The girl's hand strayed to her mace. "Just give me a minute while your potions do their job," she told him, making a confident smile. "I'll be back up in no time."

"Back off!"

Riku turned at the voice of Anar's twin brother Isil, the tall seventeen-year-old's silver hair dropping to his neck as he swung his broadsword in a wide arc at an oncoming Dancer, the Nobody's hands reaching out to try and grab his ankles.

The Dancer suddenly became engulfed in flames, as were all the other Nobodies in the foyer in front of them. Riku's eyes widened at the sudden light and intensity and he bowed his head.

"Whew, finally found you guys."

The flames died out and Riku snapped his head back up to see Axel standing in front of the front doors to the school, his chakrams in his hands and a pleased note in his voice. "And you guys just had to be the _last_ group too," he added, coming towards them quickly.

"Axel…" Yuffie began in a quiet voice.

Riku shook his head quickly. "How's the evacuation going?" he asked.

"Well, when I left to find you lot Seymour was being a total pain in my ass and refusing to go because 'I will not be a coward'. Fat load of good that's going to do him if he dies because of his own stupidity," Axel added in a grumble. "Anyway!" he started anew, "You're coming with me, and we've got a hell ova lot of Heartless to get through before we can get outta here."

"Then we'd better get moving," Riku thought aloud, looking around.

"Is everyone well enough to move?" one of the two male Guardians asked, looking specifically at Nikoleta, Helena, and Yuffie, the former of which was still clutching at her side and leaning against the makeshift wall, the latter had a definite limp, and the middle was still on the ground.

Helena groaned and picked herself up off the ground. "We'll be alright," she started saying, before her wobbling legs started to suddenly give way under her. She almost fell to the ground, but was caught at the last moment by Riku's fellow silver-haired classmate Isil.

"Don't strain yourself," he told her concernedly. She gave him a small smile in return as he helped her back onto her feet.

"Don't worry about us," Nikoleta said pointedly. "Let's just get out of here to the evac point. How many of our people have gotten out?"

"When I left to find you guys we had maybe two hundred more to go," Axel answered. "Though how many more have made it through in the twenty minutes since I left Garda is beyond me. He's back there, organizing a last line of defence, and hopefully getting that stupid mayor to safety."

"That's good," Riku said, "considering the number of people we had to get out was in the thousands."

"Let's move," one of the male Guardians said, looking at each of them at once. Heads nodded and each one of the females received some kind of physical support for the eleven of them to leave as quickly as could be.

Riku felt that there were Heartless beyond the door and thrust his hands out in front of him, a large fireball of blue and black bursting out from his palms and racing towards the doors. The metal portals blew right off their hinges and flew eight feet through the air before clattering onto and skidding across the ground. Smoky puffs of darkness were scattering all around them, and sturdier Heartless and Nobodies were sprawled on the ground, stunned by the dented metal doors. Yuffie left the hold that Riku had on her and she vanished in a puff of black smoke. She appeared an instant later above the stunned back of a Berserker, her shuriken held high above her head. Yuffie gave a loud yell as she slashed down at its vulnerable side with her weapon, the shuriken's blades slicing into its silvery-grey flesh.

The ninja dropped onto the ground just as everyone else sped outside, the red light of burning fires lighting up the gloom and the sudden noticeable temperature increase doing more to deliver a shock to them than the Heartless or Nobodies ever could. The trees that had been in front of the school had been felled and cut up, and the flowerbeds were trampled with the beautiful plants scattered in pieces across a tortured lawn. In the near distance, homes were ablaze or demolished, and everywhere there was a feeling and sense of wanton destruction. The number of Heartless and Nobodies in front of them was small comparatively to everything else they'd experienced over the day, as if they were seeing only the speckled rear of the force that had first struck all those hours ago.

Cries of rage erupted from the lungs of the Islanders as their bodies flooded with the latest surge of adrenaline and weariness, fatigue, and pain briefly left them again. Their city was being sacked and razed to the ground, and that single thought alone was more than enough to give them the strength to keep on. Against the Heartless and Nobodies that lay stunned in front of them and against them on the street to reach the middle and highest peak of the tri-hill their anger was the fire buried inside of a mighty dragon's gullet, and their weapons were the creature's claws and teeth.

At the top of the hill the group of eleven looked down the street to the beaches in the west. Houses were aflame and falling down around them, the ferocity with which they burned the only testament to how sturdily they had been reinforced with timber to repel powerful storms. They all felt as if they stood within an oven, but their blood boiled hotter. Down below there was still a mass of people clumped together around the entrance to the dark corridor, and they were surrounded by a ring of people both on foot and mounted on chocobos, riding and circling in an attempt to defend the defenceless people from the hosts of Heartless that swarmed at them from the east. Two Behemoths and three Darksides towered above masses of smaller enemies, three times the height of the chocobos and their riders that had survived the battle thus far.

Riku leapt forward without another thought and rapidly sliced through the backs of Armoured Knights and Soldiers that stood in his way along the street. His house may well be gone already, and with it the physical reminders and remains of so many fond memories, but his mother and father were still down there, and he had to get to them.

-A-D-

_Kia_

An arrow gilded with silver flew out of the yew longbow held in the girl's hands, a motif of silver vines trailing around the wood of the bent-back weapon, and flew into the head of a Soldier Heartless that was concentrated on attacking a Guardian mounted on a chocobo. The girl grasped her hand into the quiver on her back and withdrew another arrow to nock to her bowstring as her eyes searched for another easy target to take care of. Things had gone to hell almost as soon as Axel had left, and nearly every warrior who had been inside of the corridor of darkness, the inside of which was actually better lit and more turquoise than what she had expected, had been called out to hold a line against the Heartless.

They weren't doing so well.

Kia nocked the arrow on the string and directed her aim towards the head of a great big black Heartless that towered over everyone, its head covered by thick coils of hair that looked like snakes from above evil yellow eyes; and black wings came out of the back. She loosed the arrow and watched it fly through the air, striking the Heartless in the cheek. It didn't even seem to notice, which made Kia give a slight growl and reach for another shaft.

"Kia!"

"Yeah?" the girl asked, knowing the voice and withdrawing an arrow from its fletching. Yumi, Val, David, Brittany, and Michael came up beside her.

"You still okay?" David asked, the red-head nursing a cut to his left arm while holding onto a hand-and-a-half sword in his right.

"We're taking out that big one," Kia answered, ignoring his question and taking aim at its face again.

"What?" Yumi asked in falsetto, twirling a pair of daggers in her hands. Kia answered by loosing her arrow. This one dug into the same cheek as the last, just underneath it with both arrows just distinguishable. This time, however, the Heartless took notice of it and turned its gaze towards them.

"Alright fine," Michael said, grinning. "Bring it on!" He rushed forward, the taller boy David just a few steps behind with Brittany following him and Val and Yumi holding back by Kia. The black-haired teen broke through a line being held by two Guardians on foot and one mounted one and slashed his sword through two Shadow Heartless that had tried to get in his way. He stopped for a second and blocked the slash of one Armoured Knight from connecting with his shoulder before retaliating with one of his own. His sword struck at the Heartless' shoulder, and then another one dove into its side and the Heartless vanished in a puff of darkness. Michael nodded at David and the two of them raced towards the Darkside with Brittany just behind them.

Yumi's twin daggers flashed about, slicing at any Heartless that attempted to come near the group of three while Kia's bow sang as arrow after arrow left it to fly for the Darkside, and Val's long staff _cracked_ down on the heads of Heartless alongside his twin sister. He lifted his staff up and opened his palms behind it in the direction of the Darkside's head.

"Fire!" he yelled, feeling his anger at the fires that engulfed his home roar in his heart, making his heart burn ferociously. A small projectile of blazing bright yellow and orange flame burst out from the centre of his staff and soared through the air towards the face of the Darkside along with another arrow from Kia's bow. It struck home and burst apart right after the girl's arrow did, and almost immediately afterwards Michael, David, and Brittany reached the legs of the Darkside and began hacking away at its massive hands with slashes from their swords.

The Darkside reared back and raised its right hand high into the air, the limb beginning to glow with purple light. Lighting dropped from the sky all around, summoned by one of the nearby Behemoths. The six of them dove out of the way, but it cost them time as each one looked up at the Darkside to see it having finished gathering energy into its fist.

It was just about to punch the ground right near Brittany when it jerked suddenly, and dropped onto its knees before collapsing onto the ground. Kia looked down from where it had been standing tall as the Heartless began to dissolve into a great cloud of darkness. Standing behind it was a group of people, but the three in front demanded Kia's immediate attention.

"Hey, Kia, where's the mayor?" Riku asked, looking for all the world like he was royally pissed off.

She had only spoken to Sora's best friend a couple of times before, and on each of those occasions he had always seemed like such a nice person, but right now Kia had to take a couple of steps back when looking into those enraged aqua eyes. "He's back behind us," she answered quickly, not wanting to impede him in any way when he was looking like that.

"Is he still on this side?" Miss Yuffie asked her, coming forward with ten other people around her. David nodded his head.

"I'm gonna kill that rat bastard," Riku growled, cutting down an Armoured Knight that was approaching his right side with a single stroke of his Keyblade without even looking at it.

"You lot get out of here," Axel said, "it's no longer safe for any of you, got it memorized?"

Riku and the group of people he had with him passed right by Kia, Val, and Yumi, and David, Brittany, and Michael came up to where the girl and the blue and green haired twins were standing. "Alright, you heard Mr. Axel, let's fall back," David said, looking towards the hundred people that were still left and were trying to pour into the dark corridor.

Kia shook her head. "I'm not leaving my father," she said definitely, setting her gaze on the back of a man who stood tall, striking down any foe that came near him with an axe in one hand and a shield in another.

"Just be careful, alright?" David asked, nodding at her decision before leaving with the others in tow. Kia nodded wordlessly and nocked another arrow to her bow.

-A-D-

_Riku_

As soon as he had left Kia and some of the other students from Yuffie's fourth block, Riku stormed right through the empty space to where the last of the civilians, about eighty of them, were still standing on this side of the dark corridor. Nearest to the danger was the big, blonde, blockhead, the man maintaining a face of defiance and bravery with his pregnant (though it wasn't noticeable) wife at his side, and Riku's own parents and Sora's mother just behind them. Riku wanted to spit out a stream of expletives at the mayor, but wisely held his tongue from doing so. At least his mom and dad were still okay.

That, and Axel beat him to it.

"Hey! Seymour!" the redheaded former Nobody barked. "What did I tell you before I left!? I told you to get lost!"

"I will not—!" Seymour started angrily.

"—be a coward, yeah we get it," Riku finished for him. "But in case you haven't noticed, this is a situation in which running wouldn't be cowardice."

"It would be practical," Yuffie spoke up.

"Sir," one of the male Guardians who had been with him since before being holed up in the school and was still with him now started to speak, "it isn't safe for you here. We need to get you out of this place."

"Acamas, I will not leave until every last one of our people has made it away to safety," the mayor said definitely.

"Then at least let your wife and friends go!" the Guardian, Acamas, argued.

Riku's head turned as a loud bellow broke into his ears, coupled with shouts and screams of panic and pain, and the crackle of energy. One of the two remaining Behemoths had broken through the ring of Guardians and students that were holding the Heartless back, and was heading towards them. But that wasn't what chilled the marrow in Riku's bones. Standing atop the purple shoulder of the Behemoth was a woman with long blue hair wearing a cloak almost identical to the one on Axel.

Cossex was here at last.

Riku stood protectively in front of both his parents and the ones of his friends, brandishing his Keyblade in front of him. Axel and Yuffie stood readily at his side, as did Anar, Isil, and Helena and the other two boys from his class, and Acamas and Nikoleta and the other Guardian.

"Riku!"

He barely turned his head to acknowledge Tidus' voice as he, Selphie, and Wakka converged just behind and beside him, the former two with their swords and Wakka with his spiked black blitzball.

Riku's father Rekun spoke up from behind the protective wall of bodies in front of him. "Son, is that woman on that thing's shoulder—?"

"Yeah Dad," he answered, not without hesitation. "That's Cossex. And she's been ordered to kill all of you."

"But we'renot about to let that happen," Yuffie added in grim determination.

Seymour's astonished voice entered his ears. "That's the same woman from the party," he said, a twinge of fear and unease unmistakable.

"And she's a Nobody," Axel reminded them. "So be on your guard."

Riku tensed as Cossex looked in their direction. The Behemoth stopped in its tracks and she jumped into the air, slowly falling to the ground while drifting towards them. Six clouds of darkness appeared behind her, and the flying humanoid shapes of Invisible Heartless appeared from within them.

The blue-haired Nobody's feet touched the ground and she looked first at Riku. "So," she began, "we meet again Riku, and once more you stand between me and my ordered target."

"And that's how it's going to stay," Riku replied evenly. "You want to kill my parents."

Cossex raised an eyebrow, and she almost seemed to be withholding a sigh. "Want?" she asked. "No, all I want is to have my heart back and return to my world, my friends, and to serve my Prince once more. I can say with sincerity that I do not wish to kill the people behind you, merely that to kill them is to place me one step closer towards the prize promised to me for my service. Now, back down so that things do not become any more terrible than they have—"

"Like we're just going to stand aside!" Riku retorted. "The means always seem to justify the ends with you Nobodies don't they? Well I'm not about to let you get away with everything your minions have done here today, and I'm _not_ going to move just so that I can watch my parents die! Mom, Dad, run for the portal now!!"

-A-D-

_Yumi_

The dark corridor was packed full of people as every last Islander from Felra tried to get through the tunnel as quickly as possible. Yumi had seen that Behemoth break through the Guardians, and as soon as it had most of the crowd had lost any semblance of forced calm that they'd had, and panic drove them into the corridor like a swarm of bees. There was no order as groups of people tried to keep together; mothers and fathers cried out for missing sons and daughters, children screamed for their mommies as they were separated from their parents, and friends hugged and cried together as they tried to keep together. Yumi could only say that she and her brother Val were lucky. They'd already escorted their parents to the other side, so they knew that they were there in safety, waiting for them.

She had sheathed both of her daggers into their places on her hips to avoid accidentally harming anyone with them, and had one hand on her smaller twin brother Val, and the other clutched on David's arm. Their group was bound and held together by the hands of each other. David was leading in front, with Yumi behind him and Val behind her. Next came Brittany, and after that Michael brought up the rear of their train.

"It's effing crowded in here!" David complained in a grumble that was barely heard over the sobs and sounds of panic all around them. He and Michael alone still had their weapons in their hands, being at the front and rear of their group.

Yumi nodded wordlessly and glanced around anxiously. It was hard not to start feeling a little panic when there were so many frightened people all around her. Her eyes suddenly looked into a pair of frightened dark red ones underneath vibrant and short pink hair, pulled back into a ponytail. "Saji!"

A wave of relief washed over the face of her classmate, and the girl pushed her way through people in her way to be near friends that she knew. "Yumi! Brit!" Saji said. "Thank Zeus you're here."

"What are you doing here by yourself?" Brittany asked loudly over the clamour around them.

Saji's red eyes blinked quickly as her shuddering body seemed to be calming down. She must have been extremely panicked, Yumi realised, for her to likely have so much adrenaline running through her veins. "I—I was with my parents, but the crowd was just too rough and we got separated. I've been in this place for the last twenty minutes, trying to find them or someone I knew, or even just how to get out of here."

"Well, you can stay with us," David said comfortingly. "We're on our way outta here."

The pink-haired girl nodded. "Alright," she said, placing a hand on Yumi's shoulder as the crowd jostled her. "Let's just go—"

The rest of her sentence was drowned out by a sudden agonized scream, followed swiftly by ones of unimaginable terror. Yumi's eyes went wide and she looked around, but she was unable to see anything at all; there were too many people in the way. She looked up at David in front of her, and the taller boy's face was white as a sheet, as if he wanted to throw up.

"What is it?" she asked. "David!?"

The blood returned to the teen's face, and he didn't look at her. His voice came out in complete calm, and Yumi was unsure if there was a deeper emotion he was forcefully keeping out of it. "Yumi," he said, "take the others and Saji and get out of here now."

"David what's going on?" she asked.

"There's no time Yumi," he answered. "Just know that it isn't even safe in this corridor anymore. Get to Dunash now."

Yumi looked into his face, and despite the screams and shouts that continued to rage somewhere to her left somehow deep inside she knew that there was something terribly wrong, and that David was about to do something terribly brave.

Yumi gulped hard as her admiration for him grew by unknown bounds but she shook her head slowly. "No, David no," she said. "You don't have to do this. Let's just—" Her sentence was cut off as his lips suddenly lightly touched hers.

The kiss lasted only a second and a half, but Yumi felt that that was more than enough as her heart began pounding fiercely and a blush burst into existence on her face. She looked up at David with eyes wider than they'd ever been before, the realization that she had just been kissed a hazy thought in the forefront of her mind, slightly obscuring the knowledge she had just gleaned. But David's smile was kind and gentle.

"Yumi," he told her, "think well of me. Go now."

Without conscious thought, Yumi nodded her head and let go of David. She refused to look at him as she shouted to her companions to follow her and dove through the panicked crowd, every person running this way and that as frantic screams of pain, suffering, and terror shrieked shrilly into each ear.

Yumi slowly slightly and looked back as Saji let out a yell of, "Brit!" and she saw that Brittany and Michael weren't following them, but instead going after David as he'd disappeared somewhere to their left.

"Go on ahead Saji!" Brittany yelled. "You're useless here."

"Brittany, Michael, don't be—" Val began.

"No, _you_ three go!" Michael retorted. "Brit, David and I have been best buddies since second grade! We're not about to let him go and do something stupid and heroic by himself, especially since he'd finally gotten the courage to kiss your sister, something he's been dying to do for two years."

"And you didn't hear that by the way!" Brittany added quickly. "He'd probably kill us if he found out we'd told you!"

"But—"

"Yumi, Val, take Saji and go!" Brittany ordered before turning away into the crowd. Michael nodded and followed her.

Yumi shook her head, the forcing the beginnings of tears to fly away and return into her eyes. She grabbed hold of her twin brother and friend and tore off towards the exit to Dunash. She already knew in her heart that she would never see those three again.

-A-D-

_Riku_

A sharp _clang_ entered Riku's ears as he spun and moved his Keyblade up and then to the right, blocking the silver blades of two axes held within Cossex's hands from cutting him up. They gleamed like silver, with spikes protruding from their ends, and each haft was red as blood with a golden pommel. Next to him, Yuffie's shuriken went up to defend against a similar stroke from one of the fell blades and the dagger in her left hand flashed out towards the Nobody. Cossex twisted away from her strike and kicked Yuffie in the girl's left arm. She let out a startled gasp of sudden pain and jerked backwards from the strike, her eyes filling up with the sight of an axe-blade falling towards her.

Way to the Dawn was there before it, holding off the axe as Riku defended her. His left hand was wreathed in dark fire and a small blast of it shot out towards Cossex as he thrust the limb towards her. Cossex disengaged, spinning around to avoid the strike of fire, while her axes still sliced towards them. Riku ducked underneath the one aimed for his head while Yuffie dropped flat onto the ground, the blades missing both of them.

Riku stared at Cossex as the Nobody stood in front of him. "You won't get them," he told her again, more confident now. As soon as he'd yelled at his parents to run, he'd rushed at Cossex and her Invisibles along with the others, and they'd finally given in to common sense and run for the portal. That had been a minute or two ago now, so they were likely inside the corridor by now.

"You've stood in my way before Riku," Cossex said. "But this time I _will_ complete my mission, horrible though it is. I want my heart back."

"And what makes you think that Maleficent will give it to you!?" Riku asked.

"She promised," Cossex answered simply.

"Sorry, but that witch's promises tend up to be hollow and empty!" Riku spat. "You're a Nobody. She holds all Nobodies in disdain. As powerful as you are, you're nothing but a pawn to her. She would trust a Heartless more than you, because she actually has control over those."

"Maybe…" Cossex said slowly, looking down. Her tawny eyes flashed back up to Riku and her axes vanished. "But you were one of her pawns once weren't you? And even pawns have their uses. Mind Crush!"

Pain. That was the only thing that Riku could feel as his Keyblade vanished and he dropped to the ground, helpless. Pain, darkness, suffering, despair. These emotions welled up within him as memories and thoughts flooded into his mind: Maleficent with a hand on his shoulder as he gazed through a window at Sora standing beside Donald and Goofy and laughing. Capturing Princess Jasmine right after Sora had sealed Jafar back into his lamp. Kairi's lifeless body. Accepting the darkness. Fighting with Sora. Fighting the Beast. Stealing the Keyblade from Sora. Fighting Sora. Accepting Xehanort's Heartless. Fighting with Sora while Kairi's lifeless body lay on the ground. Fighting with an illusion of Sora made by Zexion. The kiss with Yuffie, followed swiftly by the sight of her dead with eyes and a mouth opened wide, right next to the bodies of his parents, Sora, and Kairi.

And accompanying all of this was pain that resembled a jackhammer drilling into his head, and the faded face and cackle of Maleficent over all.

Riku heard gasps and screams and he forced his eyes to open and look around, even while he lay collapsed on the ground with the others around him. Fear overcame him as he saw his and his friends' parents standing near the portal's entrance with now dozens of terrified people, some of whom were bloodstained, backing away as a man wearing the same cloak as Axel and Cossex exited from it. His hair was spikes of silver, and his eyes were the yellow of a hawk. In his hands rested two blood-soaked swords, swords that crackled with electricity that jumped up and down the metal.

"What are you doing here?" he heard Cossex ask with something close to hostility and confusion.

"You haven't reported in for days," he answered. "Maleficent was getting worried, so she sent me to make sure that you were doing your job. And I find that you're doing splendid work, except that you were letting too many get away." He flicked his sword and some of the blood that was on it dripped off. "I did find a few in that corridor that put up a nice fight. Brave amateurs, but they didn't last long."

Riku forced his legs to carry his weight, pushing that one happy image that Cossex had reminded him of to the forefront of his mind. That one thought of kissing Yuffie, the warm feeling he'd had when she'd begun to return his kiss, that all-encompassing warmth of happiness became his drive to keep moving through his fear. The enraged curiosity at who the man had felled his people drove him as well. He could feel the eyes of his companions upon him, and slowly, they too rose and grabbed their weapons while Cossex and the newcomer were having what seemed to be a petty argument. The man with silver hair pointed one of his swords towards the play island, and a great bolt of lightning was fired from his thunder blade. It struck against the mountain, and the creation of rock and stone burst apart, sending a shockwave through the seas and very earth to make Riku's trembling legs and feet almost give way underneath him.

"Now, do your duty," the man said evenly, looking towards the five parents, who were scared stiff and completely speechless.

Riku summoned Way to the Dawn back into his hands and leapt forward, blocking the one axe Cossex had summoned to her from striking his mother. "Who did you kill!?" he yelled.

"What?" the man asked.

"Who fought with you?" Riku clarified, holding back Cossex's axe. "Who tried to hold you back you shitsucking Nobody!?"

"Ooh, I seem to have struck something," he said in amusement. "Well, if you must know, there were three: two boys and a blonde girl. One boy had a nice, long, sword, compared to the swords of his friends."

"David," Selphie began in a slow and shaky voice, "Michael, Brittany… no!"

"You killed kids?" Acamas the Guardian began, enraged. "You bastard!" He rushed forward, yelling fiercely, his sword pointed aggressively towards the Nobody.

He never stood a chance.

The silver-haired Nobody darted to the left as Acamas came forward, and ducked underneath a slash the man delivered towards him. His two thunder blades flew up, striking against the man's sword in quick succession, driving it up high and leaving the Guardian's body vulnerable. One thunder blade slashed out across Acamas' chest, and the other came up and cut the man's neck. A strangled gurgle escaped from the Guardian's lips before he collapsed onto the ground, dead.

"Cossex!" he yelled. "You have a mission to do."

"Mind Crush!" she yelled again.

The pain came back to Riku, and he was unable to withstand it as the recent and happy memory he'd pushed to the front of his mind was swept away. Screams came from behind him, screams that cut through his whole being like a knife, and he knew that his family was being slaughtered. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Tears of shame, humiliation, pain, and pure sadness flowed out of his aqua eyes as he lay defeated on the bloodstained sand beneath him. He could hear sobbing and pleading behind him. And he recognized the voice as Seymour's.

"Please," he pleaded, his voice which before had been stubborn and defiant was now laced with terror and fear. "Please, spare my wife. She's pregnant for Aphrodite's sake!"

Riku forced himself to look, though he wished he hadn't. His father's lifeless eyes were staring at him across the sands of the beach, and thick tears obscured all of his vision. No matter how much he blinked he couldn't get rid of them. But Cossex had seemed to stand stock-still in rigid shock, as if she couldn't believe that her orders consisted killing a pregnant woman.

Using the last of his strength, Riku summoned his Keyblade into his hand, and hurled Way to the Dawn at Cossex. It struck against her arm, and her axe began to fall, but beyond that Riku knew nothing as his head and back suddenly became overcome by immense pain, and darkness took him.

-A-D-

_This was a horrible, horrible thing for me to do, and I hated writing it. Please leave a review and have the heart to continue reading._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	15. Lovers' Leap

_At the current stage for the stuff I'm updating in 'the future', you guys deserve more than this tweaked version of the first version of the chapter. Not too much has really changed, and I wish I could have come up with another Limit for Sora and Kairi that would have made sense at this point but I couldn't. And it really sucks for me because it's so short and I know that nowadays I can do so much better than this. Argh! This frustrates me!_

_Regardless, here is the eventual disclaimer._

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own it. It's not mine. I'm not making money from this, and if it was mine I would probably /ruin the franchise._

-A-D-

**The Beginning**

Chapter XV: Lover's Leap

Riku came to his senses very slowly, trying to piece together in his mind just what had happened in those last moments. It had all seemed so surreal, and then like a knife the lifeless face of his father pierced into him.

"Dad!" he yelled, his eyes snapping open and his torso bolting upright. Pain exploded into life in his head, and he swooned as the world swam in front of his eyes. He dimly heard someone saying his name, but couldn't quite recognize the voice or emotion used as he collapsed backwards to land onto something soft.

A groan left his lips as his head sunk into a firm but yielding substance and he brought a hand to his face as stars spiralled in front of his eyes, whether they were closed or not. His name was repeated softly, and this time he was able to make out the voice's owner: Yuffie.

His eyes remained closed as he moaned, "Please Yuffie, please tell me that was all a bad dream."

"It wasn't a dream Riku," her voice said. "Open your eyes." Riku did so, and was both surprised and confused at what he saw. Yuffie was kneeling over him as he lay on a bed with an unfamiliar roof over his head. He could no longer hear the waves of Destiny Islands, and bright sunlight was streaming into the room from somewhere.

"Welcome to the castle in Radiant Garden Riku," Yuffie said.

Riku looked at her and groaned. "What happened?"

Yuffie's voice trembled, and Riku knew that the worst had come to pass before she even spoke. "That guy with the silver hair knocked you out," she said, "and then he—he took out Seymour and Janet because Cossex wouldn't. Then they both left and all the Heartless and Nobodies vanished."

Riku swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the insurmountable pit in his stomach. "And the Islanders and Guardians?"

"Most of them went to the other islands," Yuffie answered, "but about a dozen decided to follow us here to Radiant Garden, and a hundred or so went to Twilight Town. We found out that Sora and Kairi were there with Max, and sent them on to Beast's Castle thanks to a few kids that they'd befriended. The King said that they can't know until after Maleficent's beaten. You know how Sora is."

"Yeah," Riku said, holding back the grief that threatened to wash over him, "when he found out the Organization had Kairi he got on his knees and begged Saïx to take him to her. They'll be furious when they—"

He choked on his last words as the pain of memory and loss overcame him. Hands came to his face as his head went in between his knees, his whole body trembling in sobs as Yuffie's hands came comfortingly to his shoulders.

They'd lost.

-A-D-

Several hours later, with two of them completely unaware of what had so recently transpired, Sora, Kairi, and Max beamed down from the _Highwind_ into a green courtyard in front of a beautiful white castle, dazzling in the sunlight. Kairi and Max gaped at the beauty while Sora just looked up smirking as he held Kairi by the waist.

"It sure is lovelier in the sunlight than at night," he said before glancing up at a balcony. On it was a woman wearing a blue dress with a white smock, waving at them. Sora nudged Kairi and she looked at him. "Look," he said softly, looking back up at the balcony, "it's Belle." Kairi followed his gaze and smiled when she saw the fellow princess of heart.

"Belle!" she called, waving frantically.

"Sora! Kairi!" they heard her yell. "It's good to see you again!"

"You too!" Kairi answered. Sora nudged her again. "What?"

"Don't you think we should go up to talk to her?" he chuckled, pulling the box of pixie dust out of his pocket. Moments later the three of them were pelting through the sky as Sora wordlessly vanished the box so he wouldn't have to fumble with his pockets anymore. Belle backed up as Kairi landed first, closely followed by Sora and Max. Kairi leapt into Belle's arms and hugged her tightly as Belle hugged her back.

"I've missed all you guys," Kairi said as she pulled back. Belle smiled at her and rubbed her hand through Kairi's hair.

"And I've missed you," she said warmly before looking at Sora and laughing. "And I've missed you Sora, and you too Goofy."

"I'm not Goofy," Max said as Sora and Kairi burst out laughing. "I'm his son Max." Belle covered her mouth and giggled.

"I'm sorry Max," she said. "I should've recognized that you weren't him. My eyes must not have been seeing thing rightly." The four of them laughed together for a time until the fit subsided.

"So," Sora asked, "you and the Beast break the spell yet?" Belle nodded.

"You mean me and Prince Alain?" she questioned as her eyes took on a dreamy look. Sora crossed his arms as he looked at her.

"So you did break the curse then," he said. Belle nodded her head.

"We did," she said. "He's in his room if you'd like to see him." Sora nodded his head and rushed out of the room followed by Max. Kairi stayed behind to keep talking with Belle.

"So," Belle asked as she closed her door. "Are you and Sora together?" Kairi was taken aback by this sudden question but nodded her head anyway. Belle smiled at her. "I knew it," she said slowly. "You both have that look in your eyes."

"What look?" Kairi asked sincerely.

"The look of one in love with the person of their dreams," Belle said. "Lumiere told me I had that same look in my eyes after Alain and I broke the curse."

"It must be nice," Kairi said as she looked around Belle's room, "To live in a castle with your one true love." Belle nodded happily.

"Well it must also be nice Kairi," she said, lying down on her bed, "To live next to your love and fight beside him, knowing he's always there for you in case you get hurt. And that you're always there for him in case he bites off more than he can chew." Kairi nodded as well as she sat on the floor, smiling.

"It is," she said softly, rubbing her arm and remembering the new smell Sora had taken. "I must be the luckiest girl in all the worlds to have someone who cares this much about me."

"Well then," Belle said as she sat up and began rummaging through her wardrobe. "We're having a ball tonight. There must be something I've got that you could wear that would absolutely dazzle him and show him just how lucky he is to have you." Kairi waved off Belle's search.

"I don't need anything of yours Belle," she said as a grin took hold and she looked skywards. "I've got just the thing. There's this dress I saw him looking at earlier; he couldn't stop staring at it."

-A-D-

Sora stood in the ballroom of the castle that night wearing what he classed to be a stuffy black tuxedo with a black tie. It wasn't his; he didn't own a suit, but the former Beast had insisted that he wear it. Beside Sora stood a regal looking man with reddish-brown hair wearing an elegant blue vest with yellow lining over a white cravat and pair of black dress pants. On Sora's other side Max in a tux much like Sora's used to stand, before he had gotten bored and withdrew to the drink table where he would stand and make small talk for the rest of the night, as he didn't have a date for the ball. They were waiting for Belle and Kairi and Sora was nervously bouncing on his feet. Prince Alain looked down at the young Keyblade Master and laughed.

"Don't worry Sora," he chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be prettier than the last time I saw her, when I was a Beast." Sora looked up at him.

"She is prettier, and that's what I'm afraid of," he said quietly. Alain chuckled.

"What do you fear exactly?" he asked, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora sighed as he felt the comforting hand resting on him.

"That she'll be too pretty," he said slowly, "and I'll feel as if I won't deserve to dance with her. I've never...really seen Kairi in a real dress before, and we've never really danced together." The prince chuckled again and Sora looked at him, affronted. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Sora," Alain said wisely, "I felt the same way when I saw Belle in a dress for the first time. If she loves you, though, she will dance with you, whether you feel unworthy or not." Sora took heart and he turned his head to look at the doors again.

"It's still scary," he said and Alain nodded. The doors opened and a man with elegant brown hair wearing all yellow came in. He instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the ballroom.

"Now presenting," Lumiere announced. "Princess Belle, and Princess Kairi." Belle walked in first, wearing her elegant yellow gown and she stepped aside to allow the girl behind her to enter. Sora felt his jaw drop and saw Max's follow suit out of the corner of his eye as they beheld his love and companion. Kairi was wearing a long slender fuchsia gown that widened about her waist and just brushed her feet that were clad in rose-heeled shoes. Upon her brow rested a silver circlet that glittered with pink diamonds as she moved her head. She saw Sora and walked slowly towards him, her hips swaying slightly as she almost awkwardly came towards him.

_Hera,_ Sora thought as beads of sweat formed on his neck. _Why did you have to make her so beautiful in that dress?_ Kairi was a step in front of him when she suddenly stumbled and threw her arms around Sora's neck as he grabbed her around the waist to steady her. She giggled a little and flashed him a grateful smile while they both inhaled each other's scent.

"You're more beautiful than ever tonight, Kairi," Sora said slowly, gaping at her face. Kairi pulled back, blushing coyly, and looked at Sora.

"And you're more handsome tonight than you are usually, Sora," she said as they took hands and Kairi looked down at her feet. "I hate heels," she said suddenly. "It's almost as if I have two left feet." They both laughed as the ice broke.

"Try being a lion cub," Sora said as the music that was already playing shifted into a new tune, "you actually do have two left feet then." Kairi giggled and looked wistfully at the dance floor and all the pairs already weaving back and forth. Sora took the hint and gave her hand a slight tug. She looked at him, and Sora blushed and looked away slightly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Kairi, would you... like to dance?"

She smiled at him as if she'd been waiting a while to hear him ask that question. "I'd love to Sora." Smiling with a little bit of assurance now, Sora led Kairi onto the dance floor, careful not to trip over his own feet. He stopped a short ways in, still well within the fringe so that they wouldn't be the centre of attention. His palms were sweating, and he was sure that Kairi was able to feel them with how nervous he was. Kairi actually giggled as she placed his hand upon her waist, but when he looked up, steamed at her amusement at his embarrassment, he noted that she was biting her bottom lip. He knew that act too well to think that she wasn't just as nervous as he was.

But then she looked up, and captured his cerulean irises within her own shimmering pools of indigo. "Sora... I've never, really..."

_Don't worry,_ they both heard in their heads. _Just do what the music tells you to do._ Sora suddenly became aware that Mrs. Potts was starting to sing.

"_Tale as old as time_," she began and they began to dance slowly and safely in their own small circle, enveloped in each other's blue eyes. "_True_ _as it can be. Barely even friends, then somebody bends, unexpectedly_." Sora raised the hand holding hers and gave Kairi a gentle push with the other. Kairi obeyed and twirled in a slow pirouette and then they came together again, just following what the music and their hearts commanded, neither really sure as to what they were doing.

"_Just a little change, small to say the least. Both a little scared, neither one prepared. Beauty and the Beast_." Sora and Kairi passed by Belle and Prince Alain dancing, both beaming at each other as they danced fluidly. Sora felt a twinge of jealousy spark within him as he looked at them. Belle looked like she was enjoying herself so much, and Alain knew how to dance. Then Sora felt Kairi's hand in his again and her other pressed lightly against his side, and looked into her shining eyes again; eyes that couldn't seem to leave his face. Kairi sighed contentedly and released his hand to clutch at his shoulder and rested her head against it, and Sora felt the green that tinted his eyes wash away in a sea of love for the beauty resting her cheek against his body.

"_Ever just the same, ever a surprise.  
Ever as before, ever just as sure, as the sun will rise._

_Tale as old as time, tune as old as song.  
Bittersweet and strange, finding you can change,  
Learning you were wrong._

_Certain as the sun, rising in the east.  
Tale as old as time;  
Song as old as rhyme;  
Beauty and the Beast._

_Tale as old as time;  
Song as old as rhyme;  
Beauty and the Beast_."

Sora knelt his head onto Kairi's as Mrs. Potts finished her song. "I love you," he spoke softly before their lips gently came together.

"I know," Kairi said after they had finished, "and I love you too." A voice suddenly spoke from above, stopping their dancing.

"How very heart-warming, not that I have a heart." Everyone looked up to see a man with spiked silver hair and yellow eyes like a hawk wearing an Organization XIII cloak hovering in the air near the chandelier. Sora and Kairi contorted their faces into masks of anger.

"I suppose you're Cossex's partner aren't you?" Kairi growled. The man raised his arms in defence.

"Why so hostile now princess?" he asked. "All I want is to introduce myself and steal Belle for my master."

"You aren't welcome here!" Prince Alain roared. "Get out of my castle and leave Belle alone!"

"Sorry," the man said. "I can only comply to half of your request, Pete!" Pete suddenly walked out from the balcony and began to make his way towards Belle.

"Max!" Sora ordered, throwing a glance at the teen near the punch. "Help the prince defend Belle from Pete! Kairi and I can handle this guy." The man floating above them chuckled as he came down to their level.

"Are you sure you want to challenge Nixion, Keeper of Storms?" he bellowed, twin swords charged with electricity appearing in his hands. Nixion charged forwards at the teens in their formal wear as their Keyblades appeared in their hands. Nixion twirled his thunder blades around as Sora and Kairi fell back, blocking his lightning fast attacks.

"I! Hate! Heels!" Kairi moaned, stressing every word, as she leapt back and tried to steady herself as she landed. Nixion took this opportunity of weakness to leap forward and attack her, but before his thunder blade could connect with her fuchsia dress it rebounded off of the magical barrier Kairi had summoned with a reflect spell. Nixion leapt back before the shield could damage him and turned in time to block an attack Sora was making for his side. Kairi shucked off the beautiful rose heels and ran forward barefoot, a volley of fireballs preceding her. Sora grinned and heaved the Oblivion forwards to keep Nixion on one place while the fire plastered Nixion from behind. The Nobody looked at Kairi in rage as he blocked her Keyblade's assault while still holding off Sora on his other side. He abruptly fell back and Sora and Kairi began to fall into each other. Before they could recover Nixion hit both of their sides with the flat of his thunder blades. The teens winced in pain as the electricity coursed through their bodies, causing revulsions and spasms of uncontrollable movement.

"Do you still wish to fight?" Nixion asked as he relieved them from their torture. Sora looked at him, face full of loathing.

"Wrong move pal," he snarled, slicing his Keyblade into Nixion's chest. He recoiled from the blow and staggered backwards as Sora and Kairi renewed their attack with blinding fury. Sora looked at Kairi while Nixion staggered into the center of the ballroom and she nodded. Together they leapt into each other's arms and kissed, their Keyblades flying off and continually striking Nixion in elliptical orbits. "I love you Kairi," Sora said as their Keyblades came back into their hands. Before Kairi could respond they both leapt into the air, Sora firing gigantic shards of ice from his Keyblade and Kairi equalizing with fireballs from the Oathkeeper. Nixion staggered at their elemental barrage and Sora suddenly appeared in front of him and Kairi did behind him.

"You won't enjoy this," Kairi taunted before the two of them continually attacked his back and front, their movements more of an art form than an attack. They both suddenly stopped and stood a few feet away from Nixion and looked into each other's blue eyes. "I love you too Sora," Kairi said as they came together and kissed passionately while their Limit drew to its finale. All about them while they kissed, fireballs from heaven seemed to fall from the sky and pepper the ground, and especially Nixion, although they didn't harm the beautiful floor. As the meteors stopped falling a light shone from the kissing teens and quickly enveloped everything in the room for a few moments. Nixion staggered to his feet as Sora and Kairi turned to look at him.

"Pete, we must retreat!" he yelled, summoning a portal. "We'll try again later." Nixion staggered backwards into the portal and Pete fled from the balcony where Prince Alain and Max had successfully defended Belle from him.

"We'll get yah next time Belle," Pete said as he fled into the portal and it vanished. Sora and Kairi grinned and quickly shared another kiss. A light suddenly appeared on Kairi's Keyblade and a large keyhole appeared on the floor of the ballroom. She looked at Sora and he nodded at her.

"You're turn," he said with a chuckle as Kairi pointed the Oathkeeper at the chandelier. A beam of light radiated forth and reflected off the chandelier, coming down and entering the keyhole right in the center. They heard a clicking sound and the keyhole slowly vanished. Kairi grinned and she looked at Sora again.

"How do you like that?" she asked. "We sealed a keyhole and beat Nixion, and I'm in a dress to boot." Sora smirked and kissed his love again.

They had won.

-A-D-

_I know that the Limit I described, _Lovers' Leap_, is quite lame, but I couldn't think of how to change it up. Besides, Sora and Kairi are both very enamoured at the moment about how they're finally dating and having finally admitted that they're in love, so in all honesty the Limit actually fits for where they are currently in their lives._

_It still doesn't excuse the fact that it's crap._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


End file.
